The British Columbia government and the province’s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, known to be combating local organized crime activities, have joined forces to investigate and fight money laundering and illegal gambling at local gaming venues.
The announcement about the Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team has come from Michael de Jong, Finance Minister of British Columbia, CFSEU-BC COO Kevin Hackett, and Solicitor-General Mike Morris. Among other things the said team will have to focus its attention on preventing people with criminal ties from using local casinos and other gaming facilities for money laundering and other illicit activities.
In addition, members of the Joint Illegal Gaming Investigation Team will also have to inform the public about the role of gambling providers in the identification and reporting of suspicious gaming and other financial transactions at their venues.
The joint investigative team will later on be divided into two separate teams each consisting of a total of 22 members of the law enforcement and four investigators, with those coming from the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch of the British Columbia Ministry of Finance. Senior police officers and members of municipal departments will be overseeing their work and progress in fighting money laundering at provincial casinos.
The unit will be funded by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation and the government of Canada. The team is to be funded for the next five years and both the local government and the CFSEU-BC will review its activity and will decide whether it should keep on being funded after that initial period.
The initiation of the joint team came as Phase 3 of the anti-money laundering strategy announced by British Columbia officials five years ago. The strategy’s main goal is to avert the province’s gambling operations away from illegal money transactions and to ensure that the remaining cash has been isolated from illicit operations.
Commenting on the latest announcement, Mr. de Jong said that the British Columbia gaming industry has been growing rapidly over the past several years and it is their responsibility to make sure that gaming venues are managed “in a safe and responsible manner.”
Mr. Morris said that what they are launching is an important initiative aimed at public safety and at preserving the integrity of the local gambling industry.
Last but not least, Mr. Hacket noted that the Joint Illegal Gaming Investigative Team’s main goal is to provide “a dedicated, integrated, and coordinated” response to illicit gaming activities across British Columbia, paying more special attention to local gangs and top-tier organized crime.
