Slaying of alleged launderer could affect lawsuits
Deadly ambush at restaurant may have implications on provincial inquiry and ongoing cases
The brazen slaying of alleged underground banker Jian Jun Zhu could have far-reaching implications — from the B.C. inquiry into money laundering to ongoing civil forfeiture lawsuits.
Zhu, 44, was gunned down Friday night as he dined in a Richmond restaurant with 51-year-old Paul King Jin, also an alleged money launderer.
Jin was injured in the targeted shooting.
On Monday, homicide investigators confirmed Zhu's identity — first reported by Postmedia Saturday — and appealed for the public to provide dash cam video taken near the Manzo Itamae Japanese Restaurant on Garden City between Capstan Way and Cambie Road from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Sept. 18.
Sgt. Frank Jang said Monday that both victims are well known to police and this is believed to be a targeted event.
“This was a brazen shooting that could have resulted in further victims,” Jang said.
Zhu and his spouse Caixuan Qin had faced several criminal charges after B.C.'s largest money laundering investigation, dubbed E-Pirate, which focused on an illegal bank they allegedly operated in Richmond called Silver International.
But the charges were stayed in late 2018, prompting public outcry that led in part to the B.C. government calling the Cullen Commission into money laundering last year.
Zhu, Qin, Jin and Jin's wife, Xiaoqi (Apple) Wei, all have been named in civil lawsuits filed by the director of the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office which lay out a litany of criminal allegations from money laundering to illegal gambling to loan sharking.
Phil Tawtel, executive director of B.C.'s Civil Forfeiture Office, said he couldn't comment specifically on Zhu's death or how it might impact the ongoing lawsuits.
“I can say that generally in a case where a defendant has died our process would be similar to other civil litigation namely, counsel for the director would seek to determine if an estate for the defendant exists; amend our notice of civil claim to name the estate; and serve the litigation materials on the representative for the estate,” Tawtel said in an email.
Zhu's lawyer Daniel Song said Monday that he“was certainly surprised and taken aback at the news of Mr. Zhu's sudden passing, which no doubt must be terribly difficult for his family right now.”
He said because other parties were named along with Zhu in the civil forfeiture proceedings “I don't anticipate that Mr. Zhu's death will necessarily preclude further litigation, as long as the director continues to pursue his claim.”
“But given the circumstances, my continued involvement in the case remains uncertain,” Song said.
Jin, who was struck in the face by the shooter as he sat inside the restaurant, has been released from hospital.
In court filings, the civil forfeiture office alleged Zhu laundered cash using the so-called Vancouver model, where Chinese gambling high-rollers picked up cash from the underground bank that came from drug-trafficking.
A police affidavit alleged cellphone data indicated Zhu and Qin had access to cash pools in numerous other locations, aside from China, including Mexico City and Bogota, Colombia.
The civil forfeiture suits against Jin allege he has been involved in large-scale money laundering, illegal gambling and loan-sharking since 2012, including a link to 140 casino transactions over three years totalling $23,501,456.