ADAM OLSEN: PacNet is a firm that was alleged to be involved in money-laundering ... they were actually getting tax credits from Advantage BC
In late February, I and my BC Green Caucus
colleagues, called for a full independent public inquiry into money-laundering
in British Columbia.
The call came after two weeks of questions in
Question Period on the deeply troubling connections in our casinos, real estate
market, luxury cars, horse racing, drug cartels and opioid crisis.
BC’s Attorney General, David Eby, clearly has a
handle on this file. With Dr. Peter German’s first report opening a crack in
the door, and two further reports to come by the end of March, the
investigation is well underway.
The constant flow of allegations in the media is
really disturbing. It is shocking that this situation has gotten so out of
hand.
Serious allegations
BC Attorney General David Eby |
When I asked Minister Eby about money-laundering in
Question Period he responded:
“But even
more serious than that is when you look at cases like (BC based) PacNet. PacNet is a firm that was alleged to be involved in
laundering the proceeds of lottery schemes in the United States, cheques from
seniors written out to various scams and sent up, actually, to Vancouver,
allegedly, to be processed.”
Eby
continued; ”It was listed as one of the top
five transnational criminal organizations in the world by the Obama
administration. They were actually getting tax credits from Advantage BC.”
These are really explosive allegations. A
provincial government entity handing out tax credits to a known transnational
criminal organization. That is about as bad as it gets. It’s outrageous.
So, we did not jump on this call quickly. We did
our work in the Legislature and came to the conclusion that more needs to be
done.
Time for a
public inquiry.
I am confident that Minister Eby will continue to
push investigations to root out the criminal activity wherever it is.
But we need an independent public inquiry to look
at the systemic issues. Somehow our institutions allowed this rot to grow. We
need to make sure it does not happen again.
Confidence in government and our institutions is
shaken.
MLA Adam Olsen |
So, we must act to rebuild trust.
Adam Olsen is the Member of the Legislative
Assembly of British Columbia for Saanich North and the Islands
Born in Victoria, BC in 1976, Adam has lived,
worked and played his entire life on the Saanich Peninsula.
He is a member of Tsartlip First Nation (W̱JOȽEȽP), where he and his wife, Emily, are raising their
two children, Silas and Ella.
Comments
Post a Comment