Chris Chandler found himself growing more and more uncomfortable during testimony last week at the B.C. Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering.
As veteran RCMP expert Melanie Paddon explained how generic ATM cash machines were being used to wash huge amounts of dirty money, Chandler couldn’t believe his ears.
By the time the Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team member had finished, Chandler, the president of the ATM Industry Association, told Commissioner Austin Cullen he needed a moment.
“I’m honestly … I’m just having a hard time controlling myself. Both the report (Paddon read from) and Ms. Paddon’s testimony … are completely devoid of any evidence that people are actually money-laundering through ‘white-label’ ATMs. So I really struggle with this.
“When I look at the estimate provided — $300 million to $1 billion per annum — firstly, that’s a report from 2008 … so by my math in the 13 years since this report was published there should have been $4 billion to $13 billion laundered through white-label ATMs, it seems to me either that number is completely dead wrong or we have a terrible enforcement problem.”
