“The CRA is concerned that any or all of these 97 Bahamian corporations may be controlled and/or beneficially owned by persons resident in Canada,” the agency says in a court filing.
Canadian individuals and corporations have $23 billion in declared, known funds stored in or invested through the Bahamas – exceeding France, Spain, and Portugal put together.
Canadians may have an additional $76 billion to $241 billion in hidden wealth, according to a 2018 CRA analysis, though the study did not break it down by country.
A judge granted a May request by the federal government to compel Royal Bank and its subsidiary, RBC Dominion Securities, to produce any information that could aid the CRA in locating the owners of the 97 Bahamas entities. The bank didn’t resist the action.
All the entities had investment accounts at Royal Bank or RBC Dominion at some point, according to the CRA in court documents, “which suggests that they might be or have been controlled by persons resident in or situated in Canada,” the agency claims.
