{"id":121961,"date":"2019-12-10T18:25:34","date_gmt":"2019-12-11T02:25:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=121961"},"modified":"2019-12-11T08:36:07","modified_gmt":"2019-12-11T16:36:07","slug":"casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/","title":{"rendered":"Money Launderers Change Tack, Using Low-Profile ‘Mules’ vs. VIP Players"},"content":{"rendered":"

Casino money launderers have changed their methods in Canada, where the media\u2019s spotlight on British Columbia\u2019s dirty-cash scandal<\/a> has forced criminals to adopt new strategies.<\/p>\n

\"Casino
Cash used to be brought into British Columbia casinos in plastic bags. Now criminals are employing more subtle methods. (Image: CBC.ca)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That\u2019s according to the federal Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, aka Fintrac, which this week alerted casino operators to pay close attention, not to high-stakes players, but to low rollers who fund their gambling via bank drafts.<\/p>\n

The plastic bags filled with banknotes that were swapped for chips to fund VIP gamblers have been ditched in favor of something altogether less conspicuous \u2013 low-fi \u201cmoney mules\u201d who are washing cash, wittingly or unwittingly, for the benefit of criminal enterprises.<\/p>\n

Draft Dodgers<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In an \u201coperational alert\u201d released this week, Fintrac is asking casinos to pay particular scrutiny to customers who regularly use back drafts to buy chips or fund a gaming account.<\/p>\n

These players may also be accompanied to a casino by someone who is subject to a gaming ban. Or they may live in a jurisdiction with \u201ccurrency control restrictions,\u201d such as China.<\/p>\n

Fintrac said mules commonly listed their occupations as \u201cstudent,\u201d \u201chousewife,\u201d or \u201cunemployed,\u201d and their bank accounts demonstrated \u201cin-and-out activity, with a high volume of cash deposits from various unknown sources, which were then used to purchase bank drafts payable to third parties or casinos.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bank drafts are favored because of their liquidity and \u201cquasi-anonymity,\u201d the agency said.<\/p>\n

Laundry Cycle<\/strong><\/h2>\n

British Columbians are still reeling from the revelation that, by 2016, the province had become a \u201claundromat for organized crime,\u201d in the words of an independent report commissioned by Attorney General David Eby and published in May 2019.<\/p>\n

Leaked security footage from Vancouver-area casinos showed images of banknotes being carried into casinos in plastic bags. The cash was largely supplied by underground banks intent on laundering money from the sale of drugs shipped to Canada from South America, and the fentanyl factories of China\u2019s Guangdong province.<\/p>\n

\n

In thrall to the spending habits of Chinese high rollers, the casinos were prepared to turn a blind eye to anti-money laundering controls, and adopted a culture of accepting large volumes of cash without enquiring about the source.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The province launched a public inquiry<\/a> into money laundering following the publication of the report, which suggested that billions was being washed through its casino sector and housing market each year. That was driving up housing prices and contributing to the opioid crisis.<\/p>\n

The criminals may be adapting, but so are authorities. Fintrac\u2019s alert is based on the latest findings of Project ATHENA, which initially began as a BC probe into money laundering at casinos in the Lower Mainland area.<\/p>\n

Project ATHENA has since expanded to a national focus, and has increased its scope to include real estate, luxury vehicles, and high-value goods.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Casino money launderers have changed their methods in Canada, where the media\u2019s spotlight on British Columbia\u2019s dirty-cash scandal has forced criminals to adopt new strategies. That\u2019s according to the federal Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, aka Fintrac, which this week alerted casino operators to pay close attention, not to high-stakes players, but […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":121962,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMoney Launderers Change Tack, Using Low-Profile 'Mules' vs. VIP Players<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Money laundering criminals are changing their tack at British Columbia casinos through the use of low-rolling customers using bank drafts.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Money Launderers Change Tack, Using Low-Profile 'Mules' vs. VIP Players\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Money laundering criminals are changing their tack at British Columbia casinos through the use of low-rolling customers using bank drafts.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-12-11T02:25:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-12-11T16:36:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MONEY.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@casinoorgphilc\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Philip Conneller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/\",\"name\":\"Money Launderers Change Tack, Using Low-Profile 'Mules' vs. VIP Players\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MONEY.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-12-11T02:25:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-12-11T16:36:07+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/58769b72851c8cf117fb58ca150ebf8b\"},\"description\":\"Money laundering criminals are changing their tack at British Columbia casinos through the use of low-rolling customers using bank drafts.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/casinos-urged-to-watch-out-for-low-fi-mules-bearing-bank-drafts-as-money-launderers-change-tack\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MONEY.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/MONEY.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":675,\"caption\":\"Cash used to be brought into British Columbia casinos in plastic bags. 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