Former director of anti-money laundering at the British Columbia and Lottery Corporation Ross Alderson has reemerged from anonymity. After several occasions of trying to contact him, Mr. Alderson has now agreed to give testimony at Cullen’s Commission inquiry into money laundering activities that have supposedly occurred in the province’s casino properties.

The former director at the Crown corporation initially applier for status at the inquiry in 2019, however, his request was withdrawn only a month later. Then in March 2020, Mr. Alderson was summoned by the commission but he refused to do so as he was going to move back to Australia. Later, the commission made many attempts to contact him but to no avail.

Dramatic Reappearance

After the failure of the commission to contact Mr. Alderson, he has now decided to address the accusations against his for his conduct and related fact in relation to his term at the BCLC. He has now agreed to testify at the money laundering inquiry, however, an official date is yet to be revealed. The commission will also summon Robert Boyle, of Ernst & Young.

During his term as director of anti-money laundering at the Crown agency, Mr. Alderson compiled a number of reports and directives on the province’s casinos. In April, Attorney General David Eby testified at the inquiry that Mr. Alderson caught his eye due to concerns that classified information could be picked up by media outlets. Mr. Eby then approached ex-RCMP officer Peter German for advice, but Mr. Alderson was quick to resign from his role.

Commissioner Austin Cullen listed a number of evidence suggesting that during his term in the gaming industry between 2008 and 2017 he has leaked confidential Crown Corporation information to the media. In addition to that, Mr. Alderson has interfered in several anti-money laundering protocols presented by investigators such as chip liability and interviewing and sanctioning patrons failing to provide a source of cash proof.

According to the findings of the inquiry, the former BCLC operative has also failed to act on the proposals to find the source of suspicious cash flow into the casinos and has stalled information sharing with the gaming policy and enforcement branch. He has also falsely accused another former-BCLC executive Robert Kroeker of ordering staff members to ease up on the cash transactions directives.

More Testimony

Previous sets of examinations at the Cullen Commission’s inquiry saw former gaming minister Richard Coleman resummoned. During the April testimonies, some series of accusations were thrown at him, including turning a blind eye to the money laundering problem and manipulating the RCMP. He was also accused of not providing enough police involvement in the investigation and disbanding the anti-illegal gaming unit in 2009.

During his testimonies at the money laundering inquiry, former solicitor-general Kash Heed has addressed the recorded phone conversation between him and his lifelong friend former RCMP officer Fred Pinnock. In the recording, Mr. Heed describes Mr. Coleman as “the most unethical group of people you can imagine”, however, he explained that his comment was just an opinion and it was not based on facts.

Source: Mulgrew, Ian “Ian Mulgrew: Elusive dirty-cash whistleblower to testify”, Vancouver Sun, July 2, 2021