River Rock Casino in BC Faces Laundering Probe

Evidence has risen pointing to a possible case of money laundering by the River Rock Casino located south of Vancouver. The casino has become a favorite of wealthy Chinese gamblers and a string of large cash bets caught the attention of officials from British Columbia’s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch.

A previously confidential government report was released last week that contains evidence of the River Rock casino receiving C$13 million in C$20 bills over the course of just one month in July of 2015.

A view of the slots section at River Rock casino.

The company behind the River Rock casino is the Great Canadian Corp., the same operation that was recently awarded management over British Columbia’s expanded gaming program. In response to the recent suspicions, Great Canadian Gaming Corp. stated that it strictly adheres to all regulatory procedures.

The company defended its position amidst the allegations in an official statement: “The British Columbia Lottery Corporation, the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch and the Financial Transactions and Reporters Analysis Centre have highly detailed and rigorous regulatory obligations that all Great Canadian [Gaming Corporation] facilities in British Columbia adhere to and at all times we govern ourselves to meet or exceed those obligations, rules and standards. We welcome the Minister’s review of the industry and our operations and, along with direction from the Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch and the British Columbia Lottery Corporation, we will adopt any further revisions to the regulatory structure should they direct British Columbia casino operators to do so.”

However, the report that has now been made public was quite clear in highlighting that the initial investigation’s findings show “reasonable grounds to suspect money laundering activity through the use of un-sourced funds has been confirmed. While the patron may be bona fide, the un-sourced cash being accepted by the casino may be associated with criminal activity.”

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