B.C.’S Report Into Money Laundering Released

B.C.’s long-awaited report into money laundering was released Wednesday, with 101 recommendations including the creation of a new law enforcement unit and permanent commissioner dedicated to addressing the estimated multi-billion dollar problem.

B.C.’s long-awaited report into money laundering was released Wednesday, with 101 recommendations including the creation of a new law enforcement unit and permanent commissioner dedicated to addressing the estimated multi-billion dollar problem.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen was commissioned to lead the inquiry in May 2019 after a series of reports to the government found “extraordinary” levels of money laundering in the real estate, casino, horse racing and luxury car sectors, fueled in part by the illegal drug trade. In his final report, Cullen says human trafficking and fraud also feed into the problem.

Lack of action and prioritization allowed problems to thrive.

The 1,800-page Cullen Final Report points to a lack of effective action from law enforcement, government, and regulatory agencies as the reason for why money laundering has been allowed to grow for so long. It also blames the federal agency responsible for receiving and analyzing information related to money laundering threats, FINTRAC, which the commissioner says has done a poor job of relaying information back to provinces.

In 2019/2020, for example, FINTRAC received over 31 million reports, but only disclosed 2,057 to law enforcement agencies across Canada, and just 355 to B.C., the report says. As a result, reporting entities have begun “defensive reporting,” where they send in information to FINTRAC even if they are unsure of its value. This causes high-volume, low-value reporting, Cullen found.

To solve this, Cullen says B.C. law enforcement needs its own dedicated money laundering intelligence and investigations unit. At the legislative level, Cullen also recommends the government establishes an office for a permanent and independent Anti-Money Laundering Commissioner, who will provide strategic oversight on B.C.’s response.