Dirty money tip portal extended, includes co-operation with Crime Stoppers
Victoria: British Columbians now have additional time to provide input into a fact-finding review of potential money laundering.
The deadline to share information through a secure and anonymous online tip portal has been extended from Jan. 31 until Feb. 28.
Along with the time extension to submit information to Peter German’s review, British Columbians who provide tips can indicate on the website if they have additional documents to share that support their submission. People with information about money laundering can also contact Crime Stoppers, which will forward relevant tips to German or the appropriate authorities, without identifying the source. “British Columbians have clearly told us that they want government to remove the welcome mat that’s been laid out for organized crime over the past decade and to make every effort to clamp down on money laundering,” said David Eby, Attorney General. “We believe some British Columbians have valuable money laundering information they can share and we encourage them to visit the tip portal.”
Government launched the tip portal in November 2018, so British Columbians could share what they believe is relevant to German’s review into whether there is evidence of money laundering in real estate, luxury vehicles and horse racing. Tip portal submissions are being reviewed, along with other calls and correspondence. In total, German is managing approximately 150 leads. The request for public tips on money laundering is a part of a series of efforts by the Province to deal with the issue. In June 2018, the attorney general released German’s report, Dirty Money: An Independent Review of Money Laundering in Lower Mainland. The report was followed in September 2018 by a two-pronged government review aimed at shutting down avenues for money laundering. This includes the fact-finding review led by German.
The other component is a review led by Maureen Maloney, chair of the Ministry of Finance’s Expert Panel on Money Laundering in Real Estate. The panel is looking at gaps in compliance and enforcement of existing laws, consumer protection, regulatory functions and jurisdictional gaps between B.C. and the federal government.