CIA May have accessed Canadian banking records
CTV
Canada's privacy commissioner is investigating whether United States officials have improperly received the banking records of Canadians.
The Toronto Star reports the investigation is also trying to determine if the Central Intelligence Agency was given unauthorized access to the confidential files.
"This is something we're looking into," Anne-Marie Hayden, spokesperson for the privacy commissioner's office, told the newspaper.
"Any time personal information of Canadians is obtained by a foreign government in circumstances that may not provide the same privacy protections that exist in Canada, we have concerns."
On Tuesday, a human rights group filed formal complaints in 32 countries, including Canada, against a Brussels-based banking consortium for providing the U.S. with confidential information about international money transfers, the International Herald Tribune reported.
The London-based Privacy International alleges the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, or SWIFT, has violated rules in numerous jurisdictions by handing over the data.
SWIFT is the hub of the global banking industry, and runs an electronic messaging service that 7,800 financial institutions -- including ones in Canada -- use to transfer billions of dollars each day, among other things.
Last week, the New York Times revealed details of a secret program under which U.S. officials and the CIA gathered banking information from SWIFT.
The Bush administration had asked the newspaper not to print the story. The government defended the program, saying it is a valuable tool in its international war on terror.
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