An Ontario business owner has been handed a staggering $36.9 million penalty after a Canada Border Services Agency investigation found more than 2,300 used vehicles were exported from Canada without the required declarations. The CBSA said Monday that the exporter was believed to be shipping large volumes of used cars from Canada to West Africa without filing mandatory export documentation, prompting an investigation that began in 2021.
The probe, led by the CBSA’s Criminal Investigations Section in Halifax, resulted in two search warrants being executed in London, Ontario, in July 2023. Officers seized a wide range of materials, including business and financial records, bills of sale, vehicle titles, computers, phones, SIM cards and bankers’ boxes filled with documents.
After reviewing and analyzing more than 750,000 records linked to the case, the CBSA issued a Notice of Ascertained Forfeiture for failing to report exported goods under section 95 of the Customs Act. The penalty amount reflects the full value of the undeclared vehicles.
Dominic Mallette, the CBSA’s regional director general for the Atlantic Region, said the unprecedented penalty sends a clear message to exporters: “They will be held accountable for not respecting mandatory reporting requirements and Canadian laws.”