The government of British Columbia, Canada is reviewing the report generated by the multi-year inquiry into money-laundering by the Cullen Commission. Once it has been reviewed it will be released to the public.
The government appointed B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen to lead the inquiry in 2019 after multiple news stories surfaced regarding hundreds of millions of dollars that were laundered through the province’s casinos, luxury car industry and high-end real estate market.
The commission’s remit was to find facts on how extensive money laundering has been and whether regulatory agencies and individuals “contributed to money laundering in the province or amount to corruption.”
The commission began hearing testimony in the spring of 2020, and heard from over 200 witnesses across 133 hearings. They included the former premier of British Columbia, Christy Clark, current and former cabinet ministers, police officers, regulatory officials and experts on financial crime.
B.C.’s Attorney General David Eby told the commission how he appointed an independent review of money laundering after viewing footage of gamblers bringing duffels of $20 bills into casinos.
Investigators told of warning higher officials, including cabinet ministers in 2009 about large amounts of cash in Vancouver casinos that they suspected was linked to organized crime.
Eby said he was looking forward to the report. “Commissioner Cullen and his team worked very hard on it and heard from a lot of witnesses,” he said.
Cullen himself commented, “It is a substantial report and puts forward findings of facts and recommendations that are focused on making positive changes in many areas, addressing serious issues that the people of British Columbia care about.”
