One conviction in ten years isn’t a victory—it’s an indictment.

By The Bureau

For the original article this summary is based on, see the publisher’s website here: B.C. Secures First Money-Laundering Sentence in a Decade, Exposing Glaring Gaps in Global Hub for Chinese Drug Cash

Summarized by Probe International

British Columbia’s first successful money laundering conviction in a decade marks a “staggering” milestone for Canada’s dirty money laundromat.

In a province known as a global hub for Chinese transnational money laundering, where billions have flowed through casinos and real estate with minimal accountability, The Bureau hails the sentencing of Alexandra Joie Chow to 18 months in jail for laundering the proceeds of crime as a rarity. The successful conviction, it notes, is the outcome of a six-year investigation into underground Chinese casinos and unlicensed money transfer services in Metro Vancouver.

Although the Chow case serves as a departure, British Columbia’s record in prosecuting money laundering cases is otherwise “abysmal,” writes The Bureau. It points to the E-Pirate investigation into Silver International, an underground bank accused of laundering over $1 billion annually for Chinese and Mexican cartels, as the epitome of the province’s failure in this regard. The high-profile case collapsed in 2018–2019 when federal prosecutors inadvertently exposed a confidential informant, resulting in a stay of charges despite extensive evidence.

The global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), later cited E-Pirate as a case study of a sophisticated laundering network that exploited British Columbia’s casinos and real estate to move illicit funds globally. Meanwhile, B.C.’s Cullen Commission inquiry into money laundering revealed that vast amounts of money were flowing through B.C. while law enforcement failed to respond effectively.

The Bureau highlights Canada’s poor enforcement as crucial to understanding the ongoing tensions between Washington and Ottawa, as well as the Trump administration’s use of tariffs as leverage against Canada. Citing intelligence from U.S. and Canadian officials, The Bureau connects concerns in both the Biden and Trump administrations to Ottawa’s inadequate response to rampant money laundering within its financial system, including the TD Bank fentanyl laundering case in the Tri-State area, which revealed transactions akin to those uncovered in the Chow investigation.

U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have warned that Canada’s lack of sustained prosecutions and a RICO-style law has made it a weak link in the fight against cartel-linked fentanyl trafficking, backed by the Chinese Communist Party’s covert support. Not only a weak link but a safe haven for CCP-triad-cartel collaboration, in Blinken’s estimation.

The Bureau claims he has also revealed that U.S. agencies are hesitant to share intelligence with Canada, citing a lack of confidence that Canada will act on it. Frustration south of the border is further exacerbated by the perception that key figures in Asian organized crime are able to access Canadian politicians, with known criminals attending political events with minimal oversight.

The Bureau reports that Blinken’s concerns focus less on the complicity of Canadian political figures and more on the absence of “strong guardrails” within the country’s political structures.