Gateway Casinos Money Laundering
The Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. Heard testimony from two Gateway casino managers about the meeting they had with two VIP gamblers and Paul King Jin on February 27, 2015, at.
Gateway Casinos solicited VIP gamblers for investments in a hotel and spa expansion at its New Westminster Starlight Casino — and a high-profile, convicted criminal and banned gambler accused of loan sharking took interest.
The Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. heard testimony from two Gateway casino managers about the meeting they had with two VIP gamblers and Paul King Jin on February 27, 2015, at the height of alleged widespread money laundering in B.C. casinos.
Jin, the two VIP gamblers tied to him and Gateway employees Maggie Chiu, VIP host, and Bill Lang, VIP director, gathered in the Starlight parking lot that day to discuss investment opportunities for a new, adjacent hotel and spa to compliment the casino. The five stood next to an empty lot next to the parking lot where the new facility was envisioned.
At the time, Jin was banned from entering casinos and was known by Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) investigators to be passing money to gamblers outside of casinos, either directly or indirectly using associates.
Jin has a criminal record with convictions for aggravated assault, sexual assault and sexual exploitation, according to claims by the B.C. Civil Forfeiture Office. Jin was a subject of the largest money laundering police investigation tied to casinos around this time. It is alleged he used illegal money service business Silver International Ltd. in Richmond to transfer cash proceeds of crime to gamblers, among others.
The “E-Pirate” investigation ended in stayed charges in November 2018 on a technicality. Jin had not been charged in E-Pirate; however, forfeiture claims against him state investigators determined he had also set up three illegal gaming houses in Richmond.
Casino investigators have previously told the commission of a “cash facilitation network,” whose suspected leader was convicted drug trafficker Kwok Chung Tam – a Chinese national and reported Big Circle Boys gang leader, described by police as Jin’s “boss.”
Last September, MSB Silver International’s director Jian Jun Zhu, who had charges against him dropped, was shot to death in a Richmond restaurant while sitting next to Jin, who sustained minor injuries.
Stone Lee, an investigator with the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB), testified last October about a meeting between casino employees and Jin to the commission, which is trying to determine what, if any, systemic failures occurred at provincially regulated gambling sites that routinely allowed massive sums of $20 bills to be cashed in. Silver, one of several MSBs in Richmond, was suspected of laundering about $200 million a year.
However, Lee did not provide information on what the meeting was about. But on January 21, testimonies from Chiu and Lang showed that Jin was part of a group of investor-gamblers looking to partner with Gateway.
Lang wrote in an affidavit how he came up with the idea of soliciting VIP gamblers who could be interested in investing in the expansion. He said his past experience working at the El Dorado casino in Reno, Nevada as director of Asian marketing led him to believe an Asian-style spa and hotel would be a good business venture for Starlight.
Lang said numerous VIP gamblers told him that a spa on No.3 Road in Richmond was ‘the best Asian spa in Vancouver.’
Money Laundering Through Casino
Jin operates Water Cube on No.3 Road, which had previously been subject to local bylaw violations in relation to alleged prostitution.
Lang said he visited Water Cube before the meeting.
“I stopped by there to check it out,” he wrote.
“I briefly looked around the spa, but I quickly concluded that it was not the type of facility that I was thinking about for Starlight, as it did not strike me as a high-end spa of the type that are associated with casinos in China,” he wrote.
Lang doesn’t indicate he did an online search of Water Cube, which would have resulted in numerous media reports of criminal activity.
Lang said he didn’t know who Jin was at the time of the meeting, but did remember seeing him before.
He further describes the meeting as largely unmemorable and not resulting in an agreement.
Chiu, via a Mandarin translator, described the solicitation of gamblers as informal.
“When a patron comes to play, I would just ask ‘Oh, are you interested because our company has this proposed project, are you interested?’”
Chiu also told the commission she didn’t know Jin, nor was she, a licensed casino employee, aware he had been barred from casino grounds.
Commission counsel Patrick McGowan probed Chiu about policies she ought to have been following:
“As the VIP overseeing substantial cash buy-ins, did you ever ask a patron where they got the cash they were buying in with?” asked McGowan.
“No, I wouldn't ask,” said Chiu.
“Were you ever given any instructions by your employer as to whether or not you should ask about the source?” asked McGowan.
“No, no,” replied Chiu.
“Did you know that some individuals had been banned for loan-sharking?” asked McGowan.
“That I was not aware of,” said Chiu.
She said her main role was to look after VIP players at Gateway’s Starlight and Grand Villa casinos, the latter being in Burnaby.
McGowan briefly probed around Chiu’s handling of a gambler named Jinwei Fu, who was being provided money by a man named Jack Qin.
When asked, Chiu said she never helped gamblers connect with loan sharks or re-buy with third-party cash drops.
The commission is exploring how drug money from Vancouver’s streets was, as alleged, washed through casinos, real estate and luxury goods. The commission has largely focused on the casino aspect, to date, and is set to end its inquiry in May.
Delta seeks to prevent money laundering by opening Cascades Casino in 2020 as the first Canada cashless casino.
Anyone living in or near the city of Delta,British Columbia surely remembers the constant media coveragesurrounding the construction of a new casino in the area. Month aftermonth, the headlines lit up with proposals from Gateway Casinos &Entertainment, and the versatile opinions of Delta residents ascity councilors weighed the decision; to build or not to build, andif so, where?
It was just about a year ago when the debatewas finally settled. Delta’s leaders signed off on an agreement withGateway Casinos to erect the pending Cascades Casino Delta onthe site of the old Delta Town & Country Inn at 6005 Hwy17A. Construction has already begun on that 11 acre plot, and isn’texpected to wrap until the property holds its grand opening in Fall2020.
Until then, the city of Delta is still sortingthrough some details of contention – namely the avoidance of anyelaborate scandals like that of the multi-million dollar moneylaundering debacle that rocked Lower Mainland BC to its core.
Delta Seeks to Open the First Canada Cashless Casino
City officials are of the opinion that if youdon’t take cash in the first place, you can’t become an open port formoney laundering. As such, they are looking closely at thepossibility of opening Cascades Casino Delta as the first Canadiancasino to adopt 100% cashless gaming. The city is requesting animmediate joint review of cashless gaming systems by federal andprovincial governments to determine whether this could the rightapproach.
A cashless casino is one that does not acceptcash wagers. They do not have cashiers cages where cash can beexchanged for chips. The electronic machines to do not have cashreceptacles, either. Instead, the property operates entirely oncard-based gaming systems.
Staff Report Encourages City Council to Proceed
A staff report sent to Delta City Councilstates:
“One solution to the problem of money laundering in casinos is the use of card-based technologies instead of cash. This concept is gaining traction in casinos around the world where the benefits for players and casino operators are being recognized, including convenience, enhanced personal safety and financial transparency.”
The document goes on to explain how cashlessgaming systems work.
“Cashless systems require an account that islinked to the individual player whose identity has been verified,”the report reads. “Funds can be moved electronically between theaccount and all gaming devices in the casino.”
By these standards, all gambling activitieswould be recorded and tracked, and all monetary transactions in/outof the account would be transparent. Such a system would be a strongdeterrent for criminal activity, severely restricting the opportunityto launder money through the casino.
Gateway Skeptical of Delta’s ‘Perfect’ AML Plan
Money Laundering News
Gateway PR Director Tanya Gabara isn’tconvinced. While she admits many global industries have come tothrived on a cashless approach to commerce, she doesn’t believe theircustomers are ready for it. She was also quick to point out that noother casino in North America has converted to 100% cashless gaming.
“There are currently many cashless optionswithin B.C. casinos, including debit and credit cards, bank draftsand electronic funds transfers,” Garber said in a statement onbehalf of Gateway. “Our industry is always looking at adding newpayment options but cash will always continue to be part of thepayment mix. Much like other parts of society, we will move with thecustomer.”
The BCLC seems to be in agreement with bothGateway and Delta, to an extent. The gaming regulator says “BCLC isinterested in following consumer trends as well as mitigating risksin its business”.
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