On September 9, Ross Alderson, former head of the British Columbia Lottery Corp. began a week of explosive testimony before the Cullen Commission, which has been investigating money laundering in the province’s casinos for two years.
Alderson, now a resident of Australia, testified remotely from that country that he was the whistleblower who brought those breaches to light.
For several years, hundreds of millions of dollars were laundered through B.C. casinos, often by patrons carrying suitcases filled with money that were later unaccounted for. The dirty money has been linked to organized crime, real estate purchases, gaming and luxury vehicles.
Alderson’s leaks to the media led to the government appointing B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen in 2019 to head the money laundering inquiry. He strongly asserted that if not for what he called “whistleblowing” that the investigation would never have taken place.
He said law enforcement at the highest level seemed uninterested in pursuing the issue, so he began leaking to the press. He resigned from the lottery corporation in 2017.
He told the commission, “I felt this needed to be out in the public forum. I saw nothing being done. Nothing being done.”
Alderson was asked why he didn’t answer a summons to testify before the commission last year. He answered, “I wasn’t exactly hiding in a cave in Afghanistan. I was in Australia, paying taxes.”
He said he felt it was the commission’s job to locate him. “There has been a global pandemic over the last year,” he continued. “My priority has been the safety of my family. I’m living on the other side of the world.”
The Cullen Commission has taken testimony from hundreds of people. Including senior gaming investigators, some of whom a decade ago tried to interest gaming and government officials, including members of the cabinet in money that was linked to the mob and which was laundered at casinos in the Vancouver area.
They include former provincial premier Christy Clark and former gaming minister Rich Coleman.
