The Canadian province of British Columbia is notoriously known for its money laundering issues emerging in the past months throughout its gaming field, a serious issue requiring special attention. With the help of a new page dedicated to tip-offs on the subject, local lawmakers are willing to take action with the help of the community.
It is no secret to anyone that residents of a given community are capable of providing reliable information when it comes to a given illegal operation taking place in their region. They will have the chance to boost the overall battle against the harmful practice via a specifically designated web portal which launched this weekend. Residents of British Columbia will be able to provide their essential input when it comes to fields to the liking of luxury cars, real estate, and horse racing.
Ilegal Practices Have Been Proliferating
Individual comments could be easily filed by people in the possession of information which is going to be confirmed throughout a following investigation. Furthermore, those interested in providing the portal with the personal help and reliable information also have the chance to receive more information as it emerges.
The said portal also provides people with the chance to sign up for regular updates, promising reliable news delivered in a timely manner. Starting now, people will have until January 31 to provide information via the portal, a time window which is estimated to be sufficient for generating enough tip-offs. People will have the chance to provide their crucial pieces of information by 4 p.m. The horse racing and luxury cars sectors will be closely observed, as criminals find it appealing enough to utilize them for their money laundering practices.
Dirty money has no place in British Columbia. I urge British Columbians to provide their input to the Expert Panel on Money Laundering to help ensure that our housing market is not used as a hub for criminal activity. Homes should be there to shelter people, not laundered money. https://t.co/cZk939CWvv
— Carole James (@carolejames) November 9, 2018
The real estate field has also shown indications that money laundering takes place. The portal aims to provide former Royal Canadian Mounted Police Deputy Commissioner Peter German with a much-needed help and further improve efforts of identifying instances of money laundering action and illegal practices. Organized crime has spread its influence throughout the aforementioned sectors as it has been confirmed by a report issued earlier this year, which managed to stir the pot in the province.
Casino Laundromats Subjected to Probes
The month of June brought the scandalous discovery that casino venues sprinkled throughout the province have been conducting money laundering for quite some time, while province lawmakers preferred to enable such illegal practice. An independent probe into the practice was conducted by the money-laundering expert Mr. German after he was given the task by BC Attorney General David Eby.
Prior to the investigation, it was known that there is a criminal activity conducted in the said venues located in Lower Mainland, but the reality was far more chilling. Gaming venues in operation in the region were dubbed “laundromats” as criminal rings were freely utilizing them for the washing of a substantial amount of illegally amassed cash. March 2019 is a month eyed by many, as it is set to see the official issuing of two reports concluding the findings of two parallel investigations currently in progress.
The first one is the one conducted by Mr. German, whereas the second one is led by former Deputy Attorney General Maureen Maloney. The latter aims to suggest improvements to the existing set of rules overseeing the field which could put an end to illegal practices.
