British Columbia Seeks to Seize $880,000 From Alleged Casino Money Launderer

Posted on: September 19, 2024, 07:00 AM.

Last updated: September 19, 2024, 7:02 AM.

Authorities in British Columbia have filed a request to seize C$880,000 (US$650,000) from a trio of suspects accused of laundering money through casinos in Canada, CBC reports.

Tujie Lai claims to have become a multimillionaire through the Macau junket industry. He is wanted in mainland China on charges including kidnapping, extortion and running a criminal gang.

According to the British Columbia Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, he regularly gambled at the River Rock Casino in Richmond, British Columbia, in 2018 in a manner that indicated money laundering.

Bundles of notes

Court documents show that Lai purchased $250,000 worth of casino chips in July 2017 and cashed out a total of $610,000 in Canadian dollars during the same period.

In November 2018, he exchanged $20,000 in U.S. currency, consisting of two bundles of $100 bills, for chips at River Rock, which were tied with rubber bands in a manner “not consistent with standard banking practices,” the documents alleged.

In December 2019, he showed up at the River Rock with C$9.9K in 12 bundles of $20 and $50 bills, again tied with rubber bands. Given that the reporting requirement for cash transactions in casinos was $10K, this was, according to British Columbia authorities, another strong indication of money laundering.

Chinese high rollers regularly borrowed money from underground banks to gamble, in order to circumvent limits on the movement of money out of China. These funds, often mixed with drug money, were then converted into casino chips and crops.

Border flight

Lai attempted to illegally cross the U.S.-Canada border in October 2019, before fleeing U.S. Border Patrol on foot back into Canada, U.S. authorities said. He was subsequently apprehended by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and returned to U.S. custody before being turned over to the CBSA.

According to a document filed Tuesday in the British Columbia Supreme Court, Tujie Lai’s wife paid the CBSA the money authorities wanted to seize in October 2019 to secure her husband’s release.

Lai was at the time the subject of an Interpol red notice accusing him of several crimes including extortion, assault, conspiracy and perjury.