Money laundering

[Cactusflower]

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[Cactusflower]

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[dieseluphammerdown]

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[flamingfingers]

Sam Cooper on money laundering:

Former finance minister warned BCLC about large casino cash transactions

Sam Cooper SAM COOPER
More from Sam Cooper
Published on: September 25, 2017 | Last Updated: September 25, 2017 6:27 PM PDT

An external audit of the B.C. Lottery Corp. in 2015 focused on unsourced cash flooding into the River Rock Casino in Richmond. FRANCIS GEORGIAN / PNG

In October 2015, former B.C. finance minister Mike de Jong wrote to the B.C. Lottery Corp. and warned that for B.C. casinos “large and suspicious transactions remain prevalent,” Postmedia has learned.

At that time, de Jong also directed BCLC board chair Bud Smith to “enhance customer due diligence to mitigate the risk of money laundering” in B.C. casinos, according to information cited in a May 2017 government letter to BCLC CEO Jim Lightbody.

The direction from de Jong in 2015 came after B.C. casino operators reported about $177 million in suspicious cash entering their casinos in 2014, government documents show.

“Despite the introduction and promotion of non-cash alternatives in gaming facilities through earlier phases of the anti-money laundering strategy; I am advised that large and suspicious cash transactions remain prevalent. This situation must be addressed,” de Jong’s October 1, 2015 letter to BCLC states.

The information — revealed in documents obtained by Postmedia after a freedom of information request — raises questions about why serious internal concerns about the laundering of proceeds of crime in B.C. casinos were only released last week by the B.C. government, and whether a dangerous problem was allowed to fester for too long.

On Friday, Postmedia reported that Attorney General David Eby released a damaging confidential audit of BCLC. Based on the audit, Eby ordered an independent review of BCLC’s money laundering controls.

Read the rest:
http://vancouversun.com/news/local-news ... ns-in-2015

Casino expansion at B.C. Place may lead to increase in organized crime activity, sources say
Emily Barca Feb 16th, 2011
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Solicitor General Rich Coleman (left) listens during a May 2010 press conference to Premier Gordon Campbell in a photograph from B.C. Government website. Coleman dissolved the RCMP's Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team on April 1, 2009. In 2006, the IIGET had warned of casinos' "extreme vulnerability" to money laundering.
Before it was disbanded last year, the RCMP's Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team (IIGET) gave a number of warnings about the presence of organized crime at casinos in the Province. Now, as Vancouver prepares for public hearings on the BC Place casino - set to be the province's largest - the now-defunct unit's warnings are spurring questions about a potential rise in criminal activity and the ability of police to cope.

In a 2009 report obtained by The Vancouver Sun through a Freedom of Information (FOI) request, the IIGET warned of casinos' "extreme vulnerability" to money laundering. Many investigations across Canada have found that members of organized crime use casinos for criminal purposes, the report states. A separate internal assessment, obtained by the Globe and Mail through a FOI, advised that Hells Angels members had, in some cases, succeeded in infiltrating the province’s “legitimate gaming operations."

The 12-member IIGET was dissolved on April 1, 2009 by then-Housing Minister Rich Coleman. He said the the team, which cost $1 million a year, was not cost effective. Coleman is now Solicitor General. He failed to respond to VO's repeated requests for an interview.

The rest is here:

http://www.vancouverobserver.com/casino ... ources-say
Why did COLEMAN not pay attention to the warnings made by the IIGET at the time - before he 'dissolved' it? Hmm$$$

[rustled]

...
Why did COLEMAN not pay attention to the warnings made by the IIGET at the time - before he 'dissolved' it? Hmm$$$

Pretty clear it wasn't working at all, and had been wasting taxpayers dollars for the appearance of doing something when it obviously wasn't, and so they dissolved it.

Looks like replacing it has been a work in progress. And one can imagine there have been ongoing investigations to deal with as well. Not sure why people assume there's some hush-hush conspiracy afoot, but here we are.

So now the questions are: What's the state of the investigations? What has been done to replace the IIGET, and is it working so far? And, what is the current government's plan to prevent the same thing happening in the future?

[flamingfingers]

^^nice deflection rustled. You are quite content to accept the BC Liberals' ignoring money laundering concerns that were raised almost a decade ago, but now you want the present government to immediately clean up the BC Liberals' litterbox.

I guess you just cannot accept the fact that your BC Liberal party was a self-serving, arrogant, screw everyone else gang of corrupt politicians.

[rustled]

It's pretty clear they weren't ignoring with them. The documents they've released show that, and every news story on the subject shows it, too. The quotes you've posted show it, too. Pretending they were ignoring the problem is rather like pretending Gordon Wilson never documented anything. It makes a juicy narrative, but it doesn't actually stand up to scrutiny.

The Liberals may indeed have done too little too slowly.

What does the current government intend to do? They've known about this problem for quite some time now. Do they have a better plan?

[maryjane48]

It's pretty clear they weren't ignoring with them. The documents they've released show that, and every news story on the subject shows it, too. The quotes you've posted show it, too. Pretending they were ignoring the problem is rather like pretending Gordon Wilson never documented anything. It makes a good narrative, but it doesn't actually stand up to scrutiny.

The Liberals may indeed have done too little too slowly.

What does the current government intend to do? They've known about this problem for quite some time now. Do they have a better plan?

so in other words as long as its your party doing nothing its all good ? theres nothing for the ndp to do yet until the investigation is over now. but we wouldnt be here if the bclibs were not up to thier eyeballs in chinese mob money

[LordEd]

but we wouldnt be here if the bclibs were not up to thier eyeballs in chinese mob money

Link or just the usual libel?

[maryjane48]

lol it isnt rocket science add 2 plus 2 equals bclib palms greased . look at the evidence we know . 20 percent the time when asked for foi requests the bclibs ignored the law of bc . deleted public emails . paid for a known criminals defence ect ect

[LordEd]

... what does any of that have to do with Chinese mob money.

Please show a FOI request related to casinos.
Please show where a deleted email was accused related to casinos.
No idea what you're talking about for criminal defense but please, show how it relates to mob money.

[rustled]

... we wouldnt be here if the bclibs were not up to thier eyeballs in chinese mob money

mj, can you show where the Liberals are being investigated for what you're suggesting here.

[flamingfingers]

Attorney General David Eby announced Sept. 22 that he would order a review of money-laundering at Lower Mainland casinos. Eby released a damning July 2016 report by MNP about money laundering at River Rock Casino Resort that had been kept hidden by the previous BC Liberal government. Eby’s predecessor was Mike de Jong, who is running a second time for BC Liberal leadership.

The report said Richmond’s River Rock had been flooded with $13.5 million in $20 bills in July 2015. High rollers, mainly from China, were using underground banks to access large amounts of cash from suspected illicit activities. It also said high rollers were receiving shipments of cash to the casino or just off the property late at night.

MNP’s report found that staff at Great Canadian Gaming’s River Rock fostered “a culture accepting of large bulk cash transactions,” but there was lax detection by both the casino and the few BCLC investigators assigned to work there.

Authorities could have their hands full beginning Sept. 29 when the Parq Vancouver casino opens next to B.C. Place Stadium. The successor to Edgewater Casino is the flagship of Paragon Gaming’s $600 million development on B.C. Pavilion Corporation land. The opening comes on the eve of China’s National Day Golden Week, when visits by high rollers from the Middle Kingdom naturally increase to Vancouver.

BCLC 17-044 Lightbody Letters by BobMackin on Scribd

All this under the BC Liberals watch.

[rustled]

^^Yes, it's a problem, although it sure wasn't hidden the way Eby wants us to believe it was.

And yes, this problem needs to be addressed.

And yes, that is why there have been ongoing investigations for quite some time.

And yes, this problem was identified while the BC Liberals were in charge of the province. All of this we know.

But I'm still waiting for mj to show where the Liberals are being investigated for what she suggested. Just as we're still waiting for Cactusflower to show where Coleman is being investigated for what he/she suggested.

And what we don't yet know is what, if anything, the NDP, who have been aware of the problem for quite some time, plan to do differently so this problem doesn't continue or become worse under their watch.

[Cactusflower]

^^You're about to find out.