Criminal investigations are often time-consuming and can take years to complete, which is why they are less common than financial penalties.
That being said, criminal investigations by the CRA do occur. They are conducted for the more serious tax offenses and can happen for a number of reasons such as:
If an internal referral occurs within the CRA (various CRA audit programs); and/or
A CRA informant tips off a potential offender; and/or
If law enforcement agencies provide reliable information on a potential offender; and/or
If publicly available sources provide reliable information (social media, the newspaper, etc.)
NOT LEGAL ADVICE. Information made available on this website in any form is for information purposes only and is a general discussion of certain legal matters. It is not, and should not be taken as legal advice. You should not rely on or take or fail to take any action based on this information. If you require legal advice, we would be pleased to discuss resolutions to specific legal concerns you may have.