Court battle heats up over alleged money laundering assets
Millions of dollars of drug-laced cash were routinely emptied from suitcases onto the floors of a nondescript Richmond office, to be counted by Caixuan Qin and her partner Jian Jun Zhu, for the purposes of money laundering, according to allegations documented by B.C.’s director of civil forfeiture.
Federal Crown prosecutors, for undisclosed reasons, recently turfed the highprofile case of alleged money laundering involving Richmond-based business Silver International, which allegedly catered to B.C., Mexican and Chinese organized crime rings.
But a number of Qin’s assets are still tied up by authorities, including a $2.3-million Vancouver home, about $2.1 million in cash, $17,800 in playing chips from the River Rock casino, jewelry and about $10,000 in gift cards.
The director of civil forfeiture, based on affidavits from police, is seeking to claim these assets as proceeds of crime from Qin, the director of Silver International and owner of the home at 2375 Burquitlam Dr. in Vancouver. Her spouse or partner, Zhu, also named in the civil forfeiture suit, is said to be the “operating mind” of the scheme, which was estimated by the director to be a $220-million-a-year operation.
On Wednesday a B.C. Supreme Court judge in Victoria extended an interim preservation order, meaning the assets will remain frozen until a hearing Feb. 9 in Vancouver.
“We are presently preparing our response to the civil forfeiture action,” said Matthew Nathanson, Qin’s lawyer.
“We intend to litigate this case in court, not the media. However, until that occurs, it is important to keep in mind that none of the assertions made by the director of civil forfeiture have been proven,” he added via email. “None of them have been tested in any way. They should not be reported as proven facts, because they are not. The only real fact at this point is that all charges against my clients were stayed.”
Money laundering via B.C. casinos has made national headlines of late and is the subject of a review by Attorney General David Eby. The province is also probing how money laundering has affected Vancouver’s property values, which have risen sharply over the past decade.
The civil forfeiture case stems from a now-defunct RCMP investigation dubbed Project E-Pirate, which reportedly tied money laundering to the illicit fentanyl trade.
The man who is said to have led police to Silver International is Paul King Jin, who was being tracked by the Federal Serious and Organized Crime team starting in April 2015. According to the director, E-Pirate coincided with a Vancouver police investigation dubbed Project Trunkline, whose targets — with links to Mexican drug cartels and Chinese Triads — were also using Silver International.
Records show the RCMP executed search warrants of Silver International; Qin’s other Richmond business, Style Travel; and Qin’s house on Oct. 15, 2015. Among the discoveries: over $2 million in cash, ledger books, cocaine, River Rock Casino chips, credit card skimmers, counterfeit IDs and weapons.
At the time, the director notes, Silver International was not registered as a money service business under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act or Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC). It was found to have no known customer profiles on record inside the office.
Extrapolating data from 137 days of transactions, B.C.’s director of civil forfeiture notes how police estimated about $220 million was flowing through Silver International in 2015. One of its more significant days was Sept. 30, 2015, when $2.8 million was deposited.
The director alleges drug-contaminated cash was routinely counted on floors of the main room as Qin and Zhu manned the ledgers, after picking up bags full of cash that were dropped off in the parking lot of the Pacific Business Centre at 5811 Cooney Rd. Clients appeared to be regulars, buzzing in and out of the office while the main secure room was often left unlocked, despite reinforced doors and bulletproof glass.
Some money moved between Silver International and Style Travel, which did do some legitimate travel agency work, according to the director, but was nevertheless in possession of seven money counters when searched.
Despite charges being brought forth against Qin and Zhu, on Nov. 22, 2018, a stay of proceedings was entered with respect to all charges against Qin, Zhu and Silver International.
On Nov. 26, the defendants filed an application to the court to have their assets returned under Section 8 of the Charter of Rights and Freedom, the right to be secure against unreasonable search and seizure.
The application was dismissed by a judge on Dec. 12 but the defendants were given the opportunity to reapply by Dec. 28. The director delayed that opportunity until Jan. 10 by successfully applying for an interim preservation order, which was again extended.
The director is able to seize property under the Civil Forfeiture Act by way of arguing that on the balance of probabilities, property is proceeds of crime, even if there is no criminal conviction.