B.C.’s problem with laundering is not unique, U.K. officer says

A senior police officer from the United Kingdom who specializes in money laundering says he believes Canada is no more vulnerable to the crime than other western jurisdictions.

Simon Lord of the National Crime Agency, who is also part of a Five Eyes group dedicated to international money laundering controls, began his testimony before a public inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia on Thursday.

Inquiry commissioner Austin Cullen heard in February from a coalition of tax fairness groups that hiding ill-gotten cash behind shell companies is so widespread in Canada that it’s known globally as “snow washing.”

However, Lord says that the money-laundering situation in Canada looks similar to that of the United Kingdom, the U.S. and other countries with similar legal and economic frameworks.

He says aspects of an economy designed to attract investment or “good money,” like having a developed financial system and global trade links, typically have the effect of attracting “bad money” at the same time.

Generally, he says Canada is “pretty well run” and referenced a 2016 review by the Financial Action Task Force, an international organization founded to combat money laundering, that found some deficiencies in regulation.

“I wouldn’t say Canada is any more or less vulnerable to money laundering, and certainly British Columbia, than any other large western country,” Lord says.

There are consequences to being perceived as a country that is vulnerable to money laundering. Lord gave the example of the United Arab Emirates, which he says he believes has been unfairly portrayed as a “hot bed” for money laundering.