OTTAWA — The federal government plans to ban cryptocurrency ATMs as part of a suite of measures in its spring economic statement targeting financial crimes.
The government says scammers use the ATMs to defraud victims, while criminals use them to convert the proceeds of crime.
There are currently just under 4,000 cryptocurrency ATMs in Canada — the most per capita in the world, finance officials speaking on background said. The document says Canadians will still be able to buy cryptocurrencies from “brick-and-mortar” businesses.
The financial update outlined other measures to tackle criminal use of businesses that provide services like currency exchanges and digital payments. They include new powers around ministerial directives, stricter rules on registration and more criminal record checks for those businesses.
Criminals are increasingly abusing such money service businesses to “to launder money, finance terrorism, evade sanctions, and defraud Canadians of their hard-earned savings,” the update said.
The government is allocating $352.7 million over five years, and $82.1 million in ongoing funding, to the previously announced Financial Crimes Agency.
The government introduced legislation to create the new specialized federal law enforcement agency Monday. It would be headquartered in Ottawa, with a mandate to investigate “serious and complex financial crimes, such as money laundering, serious fraud, and major capital market crimes, and to recover the proceeds of crime,” the statement said.
To support the new agency, the government is also allocating additional funding for the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, which will get $46.2 million over five years and $11.5 million in ongoing funding. The Department of Finance will receive $19.6 million over five yeas, with $1.5 million ongoing.
Canada’s financial intelligence agency will get $17.9 million over four years in new funding for “the detection, deterrence, and disruption of the illicit financing that supports and perpetuates extortion and fentanyl trafficking in Canada and to advance a technology and artificial intelligence roadmap,” the update says.
The government says Justice Minister Sean Fraser will also look at introducing criminal justice reforms targeting complex financial crimes.
“The exploitation of the financial system to launder illicit proceeds supports and perpetuates crimes such as fraud, theft, and extortion that take money straight out of Canadians’ pockets, while fuelling the drugs, gangs, and violence that threaten the safety of our communities,” the spring economic statement says.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 28, 2026.
Anja Karadeglija, The Canadian Press
