Testimony on gaming is coming to an end at the Inquiry into Money Laundering with the main accusation in tatters that B.C. casinos were well-oiled machines for cleaning Dirty Money.
At worst, they may have been money-pits for proceeds of crime from crooks who liked to gamble, or those who borrowed money from criminals — both mostly losing the ill-gotten gains.
Attorney-General David Eby’s drive against a so-called “Vancouver Model” of organized crime with tentacles linking casinos, China, fentanyl and nefarious sleight-of-hand is sputtering in the face of facts.
By 2016, B.C. casinos were leading the global gaming industry in terms of anti-money-laundering measures.
The launching of a police investigation in 2015 together with new measures meant suspicious large cash transactions “fell off a cliff,” the inquiry heard.
Some players were prohibited from using cash, others had their use of cash restricted, players were also encouraged to use playing accounts, asked to declare the source of their funds, and B.C. Lottery Corp. investigators interviewed them about questionable activity.
