Criminal charges stayed in money-laundering probe
Criminal charges have been stayed relating to a high-profile RCMP investigation that alleged money laundering, underground banking and suspected drug cash used to fund VIP Chinese gamblers in B.C. casinos.
Last week in Richmond provincial court, charges were stayed by the Crown on money laundering the proceeds of crime, possession of property obtained by crime and two counts of failing to ascertain the identity of a client against Silver International Investments Ltd., Caixuan Qin (born 1984) and Jain Jun Zhu (born 1975).
These were the only criminal charges related to the RCMP’s E-Pirate investigation, where the Mounties allege they uncovered more than $500 million from a Richmond money-laundering service they said handled up to $1.5 million a day.
Just before the stay of charges, a five-week trial had been scheduled for Qin, Zhu and Silver International stretching from January to April in 2019.
On Tuesday, federal prosecutors and police would not say explicitly why the charges were stayed.
RCMP national headquarters spokeswoman Staff Sgt. Tania Vaughan said in a written statement the charges were stayed for several reasons that materialized during the course of the file, the nature of which will not be discussed in any detail given operational sensitivities.
“We have no further comment at this time,” Vaughan said from Ottawa.
“The RCMP, in collaboration with its partners, remains committed to combating money laundering and financial crime,” she added.
In a written statement, Public Prosecution Service of Canada spokeswoman Nathalie Houle said the charges did not meet its prosecution test, which stipulate there be a reasonable prospect of conviction on evidence likely to be available at trial and it would best serve the public interest.
In response to the stayed charges, Matt Nathanson, a lawyer for Silver International, said: “I have no comment on these matters.”
Money laundering and its effects on the B.C. economy — including in the real estate market — have been a heated issue of public concern in the province.
In June 2018, B.C. Attorney General David Eby released a damning independent report on money laundering that found certain Lower Mainland casinos had served as laundromats for the proceeds of organized crime.
Eby has ordered a followup investigation into the flow of dirty money into real estate with a final report expected in March.
The B.C. Attorney General’s office didn’t immediately have a comment Tuesday on the stayed charges.
In a rolling Postmedia investigation published last year, RCMP and B.C. government documents obtained through freedom-of-information allege that organized criminals used Silver International as an illegal bank to wash drug money.