Bc Casino Money Laundering Report
This means that the B.C. Government’s already low official estimate of just $100 million laundered in B.C. Casinos — which came from former Mountie Peter German’s independent casino money. When former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German brought down his Dirty Money report in June, he guessed the amount of suspicious cash laundered through B.C. Casinos 'exceeded $100 million' over.
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VANCOUVER — Larger amounts of suspicious cash with suspected links to money laundering and organized crime began showing up at British Columbia's casinos while the province prepared to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, a former gaming regulator told the inquiry into money laundering.
Larry Vander Graaf said Thursday there was an increase in suspected illegal money at casinos at the same time the RCMP was planning Canada's largest-ever security effort to police the Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler.
Vander Graff, a former executive director of the B.C. Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch, said while serious dirty money concerns were mounting at casinos, police were also working on Olympic security.
'You have to remember the time frame, too,' Vander Graaf testified.
'In 2007, 2008, 2009 there was the biggest security endeavour in Canadian history going on in Vancouver, the 2010 Olympics. The preparations for the 2010 Olympics was significant and the RCMP was tasked with that.'
He said he wasn't making excuses for the police, but staffing issues at the RCMP's now disbanded Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team were 'evident.'
Vander Graaf, who said he was fired in 2014 by the B.C. government, said the suspicious cash started appearing at casinos in 2007 and three years later it reached the point where loan sharks connected to organized criminals were waiting in parking lots with bags packed with $20 bills.
'It was like a drive-in,' he said. 'There's no question, where there are loan sharks there was money laundering and when the money laundering picked up, the loan sharks activity picked up.'
The B.C. government launched a public inquiry following several reports that concluded hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal cash was impacting B.C.'s real estate, luxury vehicle and gaming sectors.
Vander Graaf said his agency wanted limits put on the amounts of cash in $20 bills being used at the casinos to buy chips but the Crown-owned B.C. Lottery Corp. did not impose a limit.
'The integrity of gaming was being compromised and we feel we had to take action,' he said.
'I still believe to this day ... when we have the integrity of gaming being impacted by large cash infusions that are in $20,000 bundles with elastic bands around it, that there should have been action in relation to stopping that at the casinos.'
Vander Graaf said the lottery corporation did not make a cash amount order because it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that the money was from proceeds of crime or money laundering.
Last week, Fred Pinnock, a former RCMP officer in charge of the now disbanded illegal gaming enforcement team, testified a member of the B.C. legislature told him in 2009 the province's gaming minister was focused on revenues being generated at casinos, not organized crime.
Vander Graaf's testimony is to continue Friday.
— By Dirk Meissner in Victoria.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2020.
The Canadian Press
A report that was privately commissioned in 2016 to look at the problem of money laundering and criminal activities in BC casinos was released publicly today by the province.
The government said the findings reveal “suspicious cash transactions” at BC gaming facilities, including the River Rock Casino in Richmond.
The report was released on Friday by BC’s Attorney General David Eby, who said the probe is a result of “briefings that caused me to believe that our province could do more to combat money laundering at BC casinos.”
The report, he said, “makes a series of serious recommendations for reform, which should have been made public at the time the report was complete.”
The report was commissioned by Dave Boychuk with the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch and was completed in July last year.
“I am making that report public today,” added Eby.
The report states that the issue of casinos – the River Rock in particular – accepting large volumes of cash is one that has “been a growing concern in the province for years.”
And it’s the source of that cashflow that is in question.
The report also states that there are “reasonable grounds” to “suspect money laundering” through the use of unsourced funds.
The document also reveal that through a series of interviews, it was determined that those involved are “wealthy non-residents, or business persons with interests in both Vancouver and China, coming to Vancouver to gamble.”
The BC government said that in the coming weeks, the Attorney General will announce the appointment of an independent expert to review whether there is an unaddressed, or inadequately addressed, issue of money laundering in Lower Mainland casinos.
Bc Casino Money Laundering Report Template
“Criminal activity and money laundering in our casinos and elsewhere in BC will not be tolerated,” said Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth.
Bc Casino Money Laundering Reporting
“The problem of money laundering is complex, but a committed government can make a difference,” said Eby. “We are serious about doing everything we can to identify money laundering activities, and ensure policies are in place to prevent it from occurring in BC casinos. ”
BC Lottery Corporation (BCLC) president Jim Lightbody said the corporation takes its responsibility to manage gaming in the province “very seriously.”
He added that BCLC has “zero tolerance for criminals who may attempt to target our business.”