A shocking revelation came out this week. The newly elected BC government has unearthed a casino report that has been on hold since last year, which revealed some dubious money deals. The report in question was kept secret from the previous Liberal government, with the casino report on hold for more than a year. Attorney General David Evey commented that the previous Government should have released the report as concerns about illegal cash were raised. BC added that it could continue to address this issue and improve anti-money laundering schemes.
The report found in July 2015 that River Rock Casino Resort received about $13.5 million in $20 bills, and claimed that River Rock Casino employees showed no concern that Asian VIP customers at the casino were buying large amounts of chips, paying only $20 bills. A few years ago, police warned that the $20 bill was the most used by drug dealers, but casino workers explained that Rock's $20 bill was nearly 80 percent short.
In 2016, it surfaced that FINTRAC sent a letter to the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) warning of Riverrock's weakness, and FINTRAC's letter was also swept under the carpet along with the casino report.
British Columbia Casino does not submit questionable money transaction reports directly to FINTRAC, but is Yo BCLC responsible for informing national financial watchdogs first. This is not the first time FINTRAC has warned BCLC about supervised game operations, going back in time. In 2010, BCLC was fined $670,000 for failing to properly perform all its functions. The BCC lottery government has announced that it may have a more negative impact than the BCC lottery.