Debate over money laundering expected as Legislature resumes
Posted April 8, 2018 8:14 am.
Last Updated April 8, 2018 9:39 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VICTORIA (NEWS 1130) – An in-depth review of suspicious behaviour in local real estate will soon follow the one delivered last week about shady deals in our casinos.
Attorney General David Eby says the review will be one of the first orders of business when MLAs get back to work on Monday.
“Asking Peter German to take on a second round of investigation and review, this time around, money laundering in real estate, given a number of serious concerns that we have that have come out of his work and out of some media reports on that.”
Eby adds the former RCMP deputy commissioner, who recently uncovered evidence of money laundering in casinos, made 48 recommendations now being reviewed by ministry staff.
“At the end of the day, I think British Columbians recognize that this is not free money. That money that is the proceeds of crime starts with how the money was generated. We have a fentanyl crisis. We have crime on the streets as gangs fight over the proceeds of the drug trade.”
Eby is promising to make the 250-page document public soon, but he says people in this province have already made it clear they want the money laundering to stop.
He’s also encouraged by support from those who understand dealing with this means the government may lose money.
“Some people clearly had an understanding that they didn’t want to ask too many questions because there was a lot of money coming in to casinos that turned into revenue for government. I’m grateful for that support and for the confidence that the premier’s put in me to address this and for his willingness for our government to take a financial hit.”
Eby was recently in Ottawa where he sought stronger support from the federal government, as described Vancouver as being infamous for money laundering.
