Canada’s financial watchdog reviewing BCLC casino money laundering report

Canada’s national financial watchdog is taking a closer look into reports of shoddy anti-money laundering compliance at British Columbia casinos.

Last week, the newly elected BC government released a bombshell report detailing a pattern of sketchy transactions at the River Rock Casino Resort in Richmond. The report had been kept under wraps for over a year by the previous Liberal government.

The report claimed River Rock staff were relatively nonplussed by the fact that “high roller Asian VIP clients” with “no known source of funds” were routinely buying-in with huge volumes of cash. River Rock reportedly accepted over $13.5m in $20 bills in just one month, including one gambler who bought $490k worth of chips with over 22,000 $20 bills.

This week, the federal Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre (FINTRAC) announced that it is “reviewing the report, on which it was not consulted, to determine whether any action on its part is appropriate.”