Richmond Money Launderer Ordered to Pay $1 Million to British Columbia

As a part of a civil forfeiture agreement, British Columbia is set to seize upwards of $1 million from Caixuan Qin, an alleged casino money launderer from Richmond, Vancouver. Qin was one of two members of Silver International, a crooked currency exchange. The company was the main subject in Canada’s most significant prosecution on money laundering. After a massive confusion, the case collapsed in November 2018.

Police Believe that Qin and her Associates Laundered Over $220 Million Annually

The $1 million seized by British Columbia is like a drop of water in the world’s biggest ocean due to the fact that police believe that Qin and her associates were able to launder over $220 million each year through casinos in Richmond.

As a part of an agreement, Qin agreed to forfeit the money that was seized from Silver during several police raids in 2015, and it totaled $1.14 million. Moreover, the raids resulted in seizing $17,800 worth of chips in River Rock Casino, which she will relinquish, alongside personal property and gift cards. Vancouver will keep $192,725, or 40% of a home owned by Qin, which was recently sold.

Qin’s other half of Silver International was her husband, Jian Jun Zhu, or also known as Jain Jun Zhu. He was shot dead in the Japanese restaurant Manzo Itamae, located in Garden City, Richmond, in September 2020 while he was dining. Last month, Richard Charles Reed was arrested in connection to the murder. Police suspect that Reed, who’s a Vancouver resident, may not be the only person connected to the case, which is why the investigation is still ongoing.

The Prosecution Against Silver International Was Botched in a Bizarre Way

Canada’s biggest money laundering case was actually botched by prosecution lawyers who released the identity of a government informant who was the key in the case build-up during a routine disclosure process to the lawyer of Silva. That is when a federal judge stated that the witness would be at an extremely high death risk if the case continued.

During the trial, Silver was accused of being tied to fentanyl factories in Guangdong, China, criminal gangs that were linked to financing terrorist activities in the Middle East, as well as South American drug trades. Prosecutors also labeled the company as a “front for an underground bank” where criminals were able to deposit hard currency and, in return, receive a payment to a bank in China.

After that, the money would be lent to high rollers on Chinese gambling junkets, who would use bags filled with $20 bills to play at BC casinos. The money was traded for chips and then, reclaimed as legal and clean currency.

What’s even worse is that many operators were accused of turning a blind eye to this case and, in doing so, managed to create an organized crime laundromat, as reported by the provincial government’s independent report.

Last year, a police raid also uncovered an illegal casino in Ontario, which was operating during the massive lockdown caused by the pandemic, and millions of dollars in cash and assets were seized.