{"id":60573,"date":"2017-10-10T16:03:24","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T23:03:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=60573"},"modified":"2017-10-10T16:12:06","modified_gmt":"2017-10-10T23:12:06","slug":"memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/","title":{"rendered":"Regulator Memo: Organized Crime Using Vancouver Casinos for Money Laundering"},"content":{"rendered":"

Organized crime in British Columbia\u2019s casinos is a \u201cviable threat to public safety,\u201d according to a memo sent by Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch intelligence to a minister of the provincial government in April.<\/p>\n

\"River
A memo from Canada\u2019s Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch reveals regulator suspicions that the River Rock Casino in Vancouver has become a \u201cdrop off\u201d point for some serious money laundering. (Image: River Rock Casino)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The memo was obtained this week by Canada\u2019s Postmedia<\/em> via a freedom of information request. And though it was significantly redacted in parts, it adds to suspicions of Royal Canadian Mounted Police money laundering investigations<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch Intelligence Unit reports that organized crime presence in and around BC casinos presents a viable threat to public safety,\u201d says the memo sent by Len Meilleur, the branch\u2019s director of compliance, to John Mazure, British Columbia assistant deputy minister in charge of the branch.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After a several redacted paragraphs, it continues, \u201cThis information is proving well founded within the current investigation and these subjects have been identified as threats to public safety \u2026 because of their involvement in a wide array of criminal activity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Criminal Intent<\/h2>\n

A scandal uncovered almost entirely by sleuthing Postmedia<\/em> reporters, alleges that British Columbia\u2019s casinos are rife with anti-money laundering (AML) violations<\/a>. The River Rock Casino in Vancouver was singled out for frequent underreporting of large and suspicious cash transactions.<\/p>\n

\n

There are allegations in confidential internal reports compiled by gaming regulators and law enforcement authorities of suspicious nocturnal \u2018drop offs\u2019 of large bundles of cash close to the River Rock Casino or in its parking lot, usually in the middle of the night.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A report by the RCMP suggests that these incidents are the work of a massive underground banking network that lends money to visitors from the Chinese mainland to gamble at the casino.<\/p>\n

But the network, allegedly operated by Paul \u201cKing\u201d Fun, also has access to bank accounts in Mexico and Peru with supposed links to drug cartels, as well as accounts in Iran, which the RCMP suspects are linked to terrorist financing.<\/p>\n

Hint of Cover-Up<\/h2>\n

There is also the suggestion that that a report prepared by accounting firm MNP in July\u00a02016, which detailed the casinos\u2019 AML failings, was either buried or ignored by the previous provincial government.<\/p>\n

The Meilleur memo warns that money laundering is essential to the growth of organized crime, and says that regulatory laxity is allowing these groups to \u201cfoster their criminal activity and expand criminal operations.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMore should be done regarding money laundering and the relationship between organized crime, illegitimate lending and casinos,\u201d the memo says. \u201cFurther, the highest-level investigations should be conducted targeting the integration of proceeds of crime into the economy through our casinos.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Organized crime in British Columbia\u2019s casinos is a \u201cviable threat to public safety,\u201d according to a memo sent by Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch intelligence to a minister of the provincial government in April. The memo was obtained this week by Canada\u2019s Postmedia via a freedom of information request. And though it was significantly redacted in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":60574,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,60,18,61],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMemo: Organized Crime Laundering Money in BC Casinos Poses Threat<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An organized crime scandal is brewing from the casinos of British Columbia, but did the Canadian government attempt to cover it up?\" \/>\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=\"Memo: Organized Crime Laundering Money in BC Casinos Poses Threat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An organized crime scandal is brewing from the casinos of British Columbia, but did the Canadian government attempt to cover it up?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/\" \/>\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=\"2017-10-10T23:03:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-10-10T23:12:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RiverRockCasino.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"310\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\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\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/\",\"name\":\"Memo: Organized Crime Laundering Money in BC Casinos Poses Threat\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RiverRockCasino.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-10-10T23:03:24+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-10-10T23:12:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"An organized crime scandal is brewing from the casinos of British Columbia, but did the Canadian government attempt to cover it up?\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/memo-organized-crime-laundering-money-in-bc-casinos-poses-threat\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RiverRockCasino.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/RiverRockCasino.jpg\",\"width\":550,\"height\":310,\"caption\":\"A memo from Canada\u2019s Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch reveals regulator suspicions that the River Rock Casino in Vancouver has become a \u201cdrop off\u201d point for some serious money laundering. 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