By Shawn Henry 
Canadian border officials have issued a $36.9 million penalty against a man accused of exporting thousands of used vehicles without filing legally required paperwork, following a multi-year investigation that traced shipments from Canada to West Africa.
Canadian Man Steals Bus, Continues to Cover the Route
According to the Canada Border Services Agency, the individual exported more than 2,300 vehicles over several years while failing to submit any of the mandatory export declarations required under Canadian law. Those declarations are required for every vehicle leaving the country and are enforced under the Customs Act. The absence of those filings triggered one of the largest financial penalties tied to export violations in recent years.
The investigation began in 2021 when CBSA officers in Halifax, Nova Scotia, identified irregularities linked to vehicle exports. That discovery led to a broader probe involving multiple agencies in both Canada and the United States. As part of the investigation, officers executed two search warrants in July 2023 at locations in London, Ontario.
During the searches, authorities seized extensive business and financial records, vehicle ownership documents, bills of sale, mobile phones, SIM cards, and other electronic devices. Investigators ultimately reviewed approximately 750,000 records connected to the export operation, piecing together the scope and scale of the shipments.
By August 2025, the CBSA issued a Notice of Ascertained Forfeiture. That legal tool allows authorities to seek financial penalties when goods cannot be physically seized, which is often the case once items have already left the country. In this instance, the vehicles were no longer in Canada, having already been exported overseas.
Under sections 95 and 124 of the Customs Act, penalties can be assessed at a value equal to the goods involved. Officials applied that provision here, matching the fine to the estimated value of the exported vehicles.
The agency described the penalty as a strong signal to commercial exporters that mandatory reporting requirements are not optional and that violations carry serious consequences. While officials did not allege the vehicles were stolen, Canada has long dealt with concerns involving cars leaving ports bound for West Africa.
The case underscores the scale of enforcement actions that can follow when export laws are ignored, even years after the vehicles themselves have disappeared from Canadian soil.