theBreaker.news Podcast: How dirty money flooded Metro Vancouver casinos

July 01, 2018 00:25:19
theBreaker.news Podcast: How dirty money flooded Metro Vancouver casinos
theBreaker.news Podcast
theBreaker.news Podcast: How dirty money flooded Metro Vancouver casinos

Jul 01 2018 | 00:25:19

/

Show Notes

Anti-money laundering expert Peter German's watershed report on money laundering in Metro Vancouver casinos was finally published on June 27. In Dirty Money, former RCMP deputy commissioner German recommended the B.C. NDP government launch a new Crown corporation to regulate gambling in the province, because the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch is bogged-down by bureaucracy and embroiled in constant conflict with the B.C. Lottery Corporation. He also recommended a dedicated police force with officers deployed at casinos. David Eby, the Attorney General who ordered the report, did not give a timeline for the adoption of those recommendations. Eby conceded that this was not a fault-finding mission; some accountability was sacrificed by doing a six-month review, rather than a full, multi-year public inquiry. He left BCLC CEO Jim Lightbody in his job. In 2007, in a smaller scandal, the Ombudsperson’s report on lottery retail fraud caused the firing of CEO Vic Poleschuk.  GPEB general manager John Mazure departed his post, but Eby emphatically stated that it was unrelated to German's review. German estimated more than $100 million has been laundered through casinos here, driven by transnational organized criminals in China and Latin America. It involved the illegal drug trade and Vancouver real estate. He called the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond the "epicentre of activity," but said no large casino was untouched.  The previous BC Liberal government did not heed warnings that loan sharking was leading to money laundering. It shut down a dedicated squad of police detectives in 2009. A new one was announced in 2016, but it was too little, too late. On this edition of theBreaker.news Podcast, listen to highlights of Eby and German's June 27 news conference.  Also: commentaries and headlines from around the Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest, and a salute to the 151st anniversary of Canada's confederation.  Click below or go to iTunes and subscribe. Have you missed an edition of theBreaker.news Podcast? Go to the archive.

Support theBreaker.news for as low as $2 a month on Patreon. Find out how. Click here.

Other Episodes

Episode 0

October 05, 2025 00:32:19
Episode Cover

thePodcast: Taiwan celebrates 114th national day, with hopes for many more

For the week of Oct. 5, 2025: In time for Taiwan’s 114th National Day on Oct. 10, highlights of an Aug. 27 panel discussion...

Listen

Episode

June 23, 2019 00:26:16
Episode Cover

theBreaker.news Podcast: BBQ season sees federal leaders jockeying for volunteers and donors

The House of Commons is adjourned for the summer. Let barbecue season begin. That means incumbents and hopefuls for the Oct. 21 federal election...

Listen

Episode 0

March 15, 2026 00:31:54
Episode Cover

thePodcast: Movie magic at the durable Dunbar

For the week of March 15, 2026:  It’s Oscar time, so host Bob Mackin went to the movies.  This week’s guest is Ken Charko,...

Listen