Mother of target in forfeiture case says $40,000 found in dryer belongs to her
The 82-year old mother of a key police target in B.C.’s largest alleged money-laundering case says cash bundled and stuffed in a clothes dryer belonged to her and was legitimately obtained.
Hua Wang, the mother of Paul King Jin, has filed a response to a B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office claim that seeks forfeiture, as proceeds of crime, of nearly $40,000 found in a Richmond condo in May 2017.
The civil forfeiture office filed the claim in January against Wang, alleging money laundering, conspiracy to launder money and failure to declare taxable income.
In her response filed recently in B.C. Supreme Court, Wang denied she was involved in any unlawful activity.
She stated the cash belonged to her and “was fully acquired by legitimate and lawful means, including from various gifts.”
Wang seeks to have the claim dismissed and is seeking special costs.
According to court filings, police found the cash during a search on May 23, 2017 of a condo at 2108120 Jones Road in Richmond belonging to Yuanyuan Jia, Jin’s niece and Wang’s granddaughter.
Wang was arrested on the same day for money laundering, according to court filings.
In her response, Wang says at the time of her arrest and detention, her Charter rights and freedoms were breached and there was an abuse of process.
“(S) he was not properly informed of the reasons for her arrest or detention nor properly advised of her right to access counsel without delay, was not provided such access to counsel without significant delay, and was arrested and detained in arbitrary fashion,” states her claim filed by lawyer Bibhas Vaze with Hira Rowan LLP.
Wang has not been criminally charged in relation to the alleged money laundering, according to a search of B.C. online court records.
An accused does not have to be criminally charged for civil forfeiture proceedings to be launched. Civil forfeiture is tested on a lower threshold than criminal cases, a balance of probabilities rather than beyond reasonable doubt.
Wang’s response notes she was born in China, speaks almost no English and moved to Canada because her son, Jin, and other family members had done so.
According to court filings, the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit of B.C. seized the cash from the condo as part of a money laundering and unlawful gambling investigation.
The police found the money in four bundles wrapped in elastic
bands inside a plastic bag, located in the clothes dryer.
A police dog indicated “positive” for controlled substance residue on the cash.
The money had a yellow sticky note attached to it containing handwritten Chinese characters which read “39580 2017 May 22 Afternoon three thirty” and a 2016 tax assessment for Wang, according to court filings. The amount of money found was $39,580.
The civil forfeiture lawsuit to forfeit the cash cites another investigation, E-Pirate, conducted by the RCMP in 2015, naming Jin, his mother Wang, niece Jia and other family members as allegedly being involved in unlicensed money services, money laundering and illegal gambling houses.
A number of civil forfeiture claims have been filed against Jin and family members — including to forfeit the Richmond condo — related to the E-Pirate investigation but not criminal charges. In those cases, Jin is alleged to be the true, beneficial owner of property listed in others’ names.
The parties have denied wrongdoing in those cases.
E-Pirate is considered B.C.’s largest money laundering case and uncovered an underground bank in Richmond, Silver International, that allegedly laundered as much as $220 million a year, and possibly as much as $1 billion.
Police allege clients of the underground bank included local drug traffickers, high-roller Chinese gamblers and members of Mexican drug cartels, according to court documents.