Money Laundering: "The Vancouver Model"

[whatnext]

Cullen Report on money laundering in BC gets released today. Should be interesting.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/0...dering-public/

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Cullen Report on money laundering in BC gets released today. Should be interesting.

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/0...dering-public/

Thanks to Ozark we are all experts now

[CivicBlues]

Money laundering is not the cause of housing unaffordability
The public discussion about, and interest in, money laundering has been fuelled, in
part, by rising real estate prices and the belief, by some, that high prices are the result
of money laundering in BC real estate. Public attention has also been captured by the
issue of foreign ownership in the BC real estate market. While the impact of money
laundering and anti–money laundering measures on real estate prices is something
that would beneft from further study, I am unable to conclude that money laundering
is a signifcant cause of housing unafordability in the residential real estate market.
I wish to be clear that I do not urge the provincial government to take up the
recommendations contained in this Report on the basis that they will resolve British
Columbia’s housing afordability challenges. There are strong reasons to think that
fundamental factors such as supply and demand, population increase, and interest rates
are far more important drivers of price. Money laundering should be addressed, to be
sure, but steps taken to counteract money laundering should not be viewed as a solution
for housing unafordability.

https://cullencommission.ca/files/re...iveSummary.pdf

*whatnext quietly weeping.* Can't wait to hear your theories on how the Cullen Report was compromised by Chinese agents or something

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

https://cullencommission.ca/files/re...iveSummary.pdf

*whatnext quietly weeping.* Can't wait to hear your theories on how the Cullen Report was compromised by Chinese agents or something

To be fair and with a little bit of advocacy for the devil, the Cullen report says they have not found any evidence, but that doesn't mean there isn't any correlation and it specifically states it's worth looking into.

Absense of evidence != evidence of absence (but it does point convincingly in that direction)

[Migrant_Coconut]

Not defending whatnext, but if a suspect's main line of argument is "you can't prove anything," they're just encouraging people to dig deeper.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

https://cullencommission.ca/files/re...iveSummary.pdf

*whatnext quietly weeping.* Can't wait to hear your theories on how the Cullen Report was compromised by Chinese agents or something

LOL. “Pay no attention to all those images of people trooping into River Rock Casino that were splashed across the news today. Nothing too see here”.

[CivicBlues]

lol cry harder. You're like a 9/11 Truther or Obama Birther at this point.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by CivicBlues

lol cry harder. You're like a 9/11 Truther or Obama Birther at this point.

Reading comprehension is a thing. Bolded to make it easier for you:

..The report also noted that the province’s real estate sector is highly vulnerable to money laundering and that realtors are frustrated by the lack of guidance on how to comply with federal anti-money-laundering obligations.

“There is a need for clear, simple guidance from FinTRAC about when transactions must be reported,” the report said.

However, the Cullen Commission said it is not clear that money laundering is the cause of housing unaffordability. “The public discussion about, and interest in, money laundering has been fuelled, in part, by rising real estate prices,” Mr. Cullen wrote. But he said it would take more study to determine if that is in fact the case....

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/cana...w-of-billions/

In short, his brief was to find out if money was being laundered through BC and it was. If you want to identify its full effect on housing prices that's another commission.

[CivicBlues]

Sure, that is what he wrote in the summary I posted, but the heading he also wrote contradicts that. So

[Klazu]

BIV is describing the report proving enormous money laundering operation that politicians were fully aware of, but nobody is to be blamed, naturally.

https://biv.com/article/2022/06/mone...issioner-finds

[FarmerHaight]

Originally Posted by Klazu

BIV is describing the report proving enormous money laundering operation that politicians were fully aware of, but nobody is to be blamed, naturally.

https://biv.com/article/2022/06/mone...issioner-finds

What font is that first bolded paragraph set in? The lowercase "i" is atrocious and so hard to read.

[SeymourDrake]

pay not attention to the gamblers carrying a walmart bag full of cash into the casino or even worse a suitcase.

nothing to see here

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by Klazu

BIV is describing the report proving enormous money laundering operation that politicians were fully aware of, but nobody is to be blamed, naturally.

https://biv.com/article/2022/06/mone...issioner-finds

they were talking about it on CKNW this morning, sounds like the Liberals were well aware and all levels up to Christy Clark didn't do anything. The consensus was BC Liberal party is screwed because of this.

[nonimbysallowed]

interesting bit from the cullen report

Conclusion on Causes of Real Estate Price Increases

I am unable to conclude that either money laundering or foreign investment (however that is defined) is a primary cause of price increases in British Columbia residential real estate. There are strong reasons to believe that other factors, discussed above, are the drivers of housing unaffordability in this province. I certainly would not urge the provincial government to take up the recommendations in this Report on the basis that addressing money laundering will resolve British Columbia’s housing affordability issues.

I'm sure this has a lot of people disappointed if not directly denying the report's validity.

[nonimbysallowed]

Originally Posted by chowhou

To be fair and with a little bit of advocacy for the devil, the Cullen report says they have not found any evidence, but that doesn't mean there isn't any correlation and it specifically states it's worth looking into.

Absense of evidence != evidence of absence (but it does point convincingly in that direction)

in the same vein the lack of evidence of a God does not mean there is no god. People are now resorting to the same logics recycled from defending religions. It's practically undisprovable now

[Migrant_Coconut]

I suppose certain people think Al Capone was innocent?

[nonimbysallowed]

Lol, in the same way there is a lack of evidence that Al Capone was innocent. Or turn it around, just because there is no evidence that you didn't murder anyone doesn't mean you didn't. Therefore the government is totally justified in coming after you and your family. You are only fooling yourself at this point.

What does it even matter if an investigation is done if conspiracy theorists will just continue to believe their preconceived biases anyway?

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by nonimbysallowed

Lol, in the same way there is a lack of evidence that Al Capone was innocent. Or turn it around, just because there is no evidence that you didn't murder anyone doesn't mean you didn't. Therefore the government is totally justified in coming after you and your family. You are only fooling yourself at this point.

What does it even matter if an investigation is done if conspiracy theorists will just continue to believe their preconceived biases anyway?

They had to find Capone guilty, not innocent, and in that regard there was no evidence - they had to get him on tax evasion. Same difference.

No conspiracy needed. The report summary confirms that there was massive amounts of money laundering in BC's casinos over the past decades, that the real estate sector is incredibly vulnerable to the same (pages 16 and 17), and that a lack of visibility or self-regulation in said sector makes it hard to investigate anything. It seems obvious that anything which increases housing demand and reduces supply (e.g. homes being used as assets instead of living spaces) is worthy of further corrective action.

[Tourist9394]

https://thebreaker.news/opinion/podcast-243/

[Tourist9394]

Breaker News podcast on BC Money Laundering
https://thebreaker.news/opinion/podcast-243/