Two reports on money laundering have been delivered to the B.C. government after reviews aimed at shutting down the problem in real estate, luxury cars and horse racing.
The province says in a news release it commissioned the reports in September after widespread concern about B.C.’s reputation as a “haven” for money laundering.
READ MORE: B.C. minister fears money laundering involves billions of dollars, cites reports
The first report is by an expert panel on money laundering and it recommends rule changes that would close loopholes in the real estate market and increase transparency on who owns property in B.C.
The other report is by former RCMP deputy commissioner Peter German and focuses on potential links between criminal enterprises and the real estate, horse racing and luxury car industries.
He was asked to look at the industries after he released the results of a review last June on money laundering in Lower Mainland casinos.
The government says it will review both reports before making them public later this spring.
Finance Minister Carole James says money laundering is a serious problem in B.C.’s real estate market.
“Our real estate market should be used for housing people, not for laundering the proceeds of crime. That’s why we asked our expert panel to review our rules and regulations, and to offer concrete actions that we can take to clean up our real estate sector,” she says in a statement.
The Canadian Press
