Twisted path for China-to-B.C. funds

Nine people brought $50,000 each to facilitate purchase of property

The CEO of a Chinese company moved $750,000 from China to Metro Vancouver for a real estate deal with the help of nine strangers who each brought $50,000 into Canada for “tourist purposes,” according to a B.C. Supreme Court judgment.

The judgment sets out the method through which Hong Jie (Anita) Wang, an executive in Shandong, China, transferred money for the purpose of buying a two-hectare Port Coquitlam property with a B.C.-based partner.

Ravi Panwar, who acted as the buying agent on the 2011 deal, told Postmedia News that such land deals — where offshore investors partner with B.C.-based counterparts — are “quite common,” though he didn’t know how often they involve money shipments like those outlined in this case.

Last week’s judgment is in a civil claim filed by Wang in 2016, accusing Yong Li (William) Wang, her B.C.-based partner in the 2011 purchase, of fraud and breach of contract. She sought sole ownership of the property.

The defendant denied the allegations, and the matter went to trial in September.

B.C. Supreme Court Judge Laura Gerow, in reasons for judgment last week, did not find either party to be credible, said there should be an accounting between the parties, and each should bear their own legal costs.

The two Wangs are not related, according to court filings, but both come from Shandong.