AG to act on BCLC money laundering case

The Attorney General of the province said that action will be announced later this week.

Canada.- David Eby, Attorney General of British Columbia, said during an anti-corruption law conference in Vancouver that action regarding the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) case in which allegations of money laundering issues at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond, Vancouver were registered.

“Our international reputation is on the line. I was advised that the particular style of money laundering in B.C. related to B.C. casinos is being called ‘the Vancouver Model’ in at least one international intelligence community,” said Eby, and added that the previous government is responsible for the problems as they held power for 16 years, and that he was shocked by what he found out once he took office last July.

“The previous administration’s lax attitude towards this issue means British Columbia has apparently developed its own, internationally recognized, model of money laundering,” he added. This has a major and serious consequence … for the encouragement of whatever illegal activity might be generating these proceeds of crime.”

A report revealed that Ricker Rock was predisposed to accepting single cash buy-ins of approximately US$400k from high roller VIP Asian clients that didn’t have a reliable source of funds. The gambling facility allegedly US$13.5 million in $20 bills in just July of 2015, most of the money received at unusual times and dropped off outside the casino.

The report was commissioned by British Columbia’s Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch, the government agency that oversees the operations of the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC), and that received complaints in the past for not bothering to check the money flowing through its gambling venues. “Law enforcement intelligence has indicated that this currency may be the direct proceeds of crime,” said the report.