River Rock Casino and Resort
As more reports surface surrounding the depth of money laundering allegations at River Rock Casino and Resort in Richmond, the facility’s owner is claiming it has always abided by the law.
Great Canadian Gaming Corporation claims it has “a culture of integrity and transparency.
“Great Canadian follows all procedures required by the British Columbia Lottery Corporation (BCLC) and our other crown partners and regulatory bodies across all of the jurisdictions in which we operate,” stated the casino operator, via a news release Monday.
“Contrary to suggestions in certain media reports, to our knowledge our company is not under investigation in any jurisdiction. Our employees followed all procedures required of them by BCLC and we do not believe our company’s actions would give cause to initiate any investigation,” it added.
Those media reports stem from the Vancouver Sun revealing an RCMP investigation into money laundering concerns at River Rock. The reports show police on the trail of an underground banking network that funnels local drug money to “whale gamblers” from Macau, China, who are intent on evading capital controls out of that country. The Sun revealed most high rollers are linked to real estate investment in B.C.
The Sun’s investigation followed the release of an independent review on gaming in B.C. that revealed serious concerns inside the River Rock, including floor employees allegedly not following, or understanding, anti-money laundering best practices.
In one month (July 2015), the casino accepted $13.5 million in $20 bills alone, noted the review.
Pertaining to the irregular cash transactions, BCLC said it will await instruction from Gaming Policy Enforcement Branch (GPEB), the provincial regulator, and the Ministry of Finance as to how it may reform in the wake of such revelations.
Great Canadian said it is and always has been on board with following regulations.
“We regularly go beyond our regulatory obligations and proactively undertake investigative work ourselves, providing that information to BCLC. At River Rock Casino Resort, our security and compliance teams work closely with highly-trained BCLC investigators who work onsite full time, to help them conduct their investigations,” noted Great Canadian.
The Sun reported discrepancies in how the whale gamblers are cashing out their money. Some receive cheques, others are said to be able to exchange their $20 bills for $100 ones.
But, claims Great Canadian: “Players at River Rock, and any casino in B.C., can only receive a cheque for ‘verified winnings’ – that is, amounts they have legitimately won through play. The cheque amount does not include the initial cash buy-in which is only returned to the player in cash.”
