Criminal Interest Rates

Yes, under Criminal Code of Canada section 347(2), you can be labelled as a criminal just for charging too much interest. You could even be a criminal just for agreeing to collect too much interest, before that interest is ever paid to you. You could also be convicted of a crime just for receiving payment at a criminal rate, even if you didn't know the payment was received at a criminal rate.

Ok ok, time to end the suspense:
Q: What is a criminal interest rate?
A: Anything above 60%. More specifically, it's an effective annual rate of interest that exceeds 60% on the credit advanced.

Don't worry though, under section 347.1, you can still lend money at more than 60% interest if all of the following apply:
(a) the loan is a payday loan.
(b) you're lending out $1500 or less for 62 days or less.
(c) you're licensed or authorized under a provincial law to do so.
(d) you're in a province that the Governor in Council has designated as having in place laws that protect borrowers and limit the total cost of borrowing.

So, you may ask, what is the legal definition of "payday loan"? Who is the Governor in Council? Has he or she designated your province? Well, maybe you should ask a lawyer. Or you could find the answers yourself, by starting here:

Criminal Code of Canada section 347: Criminal Interest Rates

Now you can prove you're legally right when you exclaim "He charged you that much interest? That's criminal!" Enjoy!

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"Yes, That's a Crime" is brought to you by Lloyd Defence Law, where you can get efficient, effective defence against any Criminal Code charge, or any charge being brought against you by the state.