VICTORIA – A report into money laundering in British Columbia says lack of attention by the RCMP let the crime rise unchecked, allowing billions into the financial system, while provincial politicians knew suspicious cash was circulating in Vancouver-area casinos but didn’t do enough to stop it.
The report released Wednesday by former B.C. Supreme Court justice Austin Cullen says there was no evidence of political or personal corruption, but the anti-money-laundering actions taken by the former B.C. Liberal government were not enough to stop the flow of illegal cash.
“For too long money laundering has been kept on the sidelines,” Cullen said at a news conference. “Too often it has been largely ignored. It’s time for that to change.”
Cullen said governments, regulatory bodies and law enforcement must be focused on that change to properly fight money laundering.
His report names former gaming ministers Rich Coleman, Mike de Jong, and Shirley Bond, and former premier Christy Clark, saying each took some anti-money laundering actions, but with limited results.
All four testified at the Cullen commission’s public inquiry, saying their actions were based on the best information they had on fighting money laundering.
“There is no evidence that any of these individuals knowingly encouraged, facilitated or permitted money laundering to occur in order to obtain personal benefit or advantage, be it financial, political or otherwise,” says the report.
The report says the federal government’s anti-money laundering regime is not effective and B.C. should be focused on strengthening its own anti-money-laundering initiatives.
Cullen’s report is also highly critical of the RCMP, saying the Mounties’ “lack of attention” to money laundering allowed unchecked growth of the crime since 2012.
“There was no sustained effort to investigate money laundering activity in British Columbia. Between 2015 and 2020, there were only two other major money laundering investigations that progressed to the charge-approval stage. This level of attention by the RCMP to money laundering is not commensurate with the money laundering activity and risks in this province.”
Cullen’s report doesn’t estimate how much money was laundered, other than to say the figure is large and amounts to billions each year.
It says in 2014, B.C. casinos accepted $1.2 billion in cash transactions of $10,000 or more.
Money laundering activity was common at B.C.’s casinos, the report says.
“These vast quantities of cash were frequently delivered to casino patrons at or near casinos, very late at night or early in the morning, by unmarked luxury vehicles. It should have been apparent to anyone with an awareness of the size and character of these transactions that Lower Mainland casinos were accepting vast quantities of proceeds of crime during this time period.”
Cullen’s report makes 101 recommendations, including calling on the B.C. government to establish an office of an independent commissioner to focus on anti-money laundering, amending the Mortgage Brokers Act and Real Estate Services Regulation and forcing casinos to lower the threshold for requiring proof of a gambler’s source of funds to $3,000.
Premier John Horgan appointed Cullen in May 2019 to lead the inquiry after several official reports determined billions of dollars linked to organized crime and the drug trade had affected B.C.’s gaming sector and the real estate and luxury vehicle markets.
The inquiry heard testimony over 133 days from almost 200 witnesses.
-By Dirk Meissner
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2022.
The Canadian Press
