Investigators had little power to act on 'daily' suspicious cash transactions at B.C. casino, staff say

Former investigatorsfor B.C.'s Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch (GPEB) said they oncesaw suspicious cash transactions happening "daily" at a major casino in Richmond, B.C., but for years did not have clearanceto take action beyond filingreports to theirsuperiors, an inquiry has heard.

Ken Ackles, investigations manager, estimated he spent "70 per cent" of his days assigned to the River Rock Casino preparing confidential "Section 86" reports, which summarize suspicious incidents at gaming sites in B.C.

He said he saw suspicious transactions happening every day during his first year at the casinoin 2013. Once, he heard of a well-known VIPpatronpaying up to $300,000 for buy-ins withsloppy stacks of $20 billsheld together with elastic bands.

Ackles, who had previously spent 37 years with the RCMP, said the cash resembled proceeds of crime he saw while he was working as a police officer. His partner, Rob Barber, said the same Tuesday based on his 28 years of experience with the Vancouver Police Department.

Despite theirconcerns, theysaid, there was little theycould do to directly investigate.

Ackles' and Barber's casino experiences were the focus of proceedings Monday and Tuesday at a public inquiry on money laundering in B.C.

Both told the hearing theysaw a steady increase in the number and size of cash buy-ins at the River Rock Casino between2013 and the peak of the province's money laundering problem in 2015.

Ackles eventually talked Barber into creatingan Excel spreadsheet to keep track of large, suspicious transactions happening at the casino. It listed $20-million worth in July 2015, with at least $13.5 millionin $20 bills.

Ackles took the spreadsheet to GPEB's executive director, Len Meilleur.

"He was shocked. He thought I was joking," Ackles told the commission.

Barber said the men put the spreadsheet together in spite ofGPEB policyafter getting increasingly fed up with writing reports that didn't change anything.

"We'd both been writing these reports and becoming more frustrated over the years, and he convinced me," said Barber, who is now retired.

TheGPEBregulates gambling in B.C. and is meant to ensurethe integrity of gamblingindustry companies. Ackles told the commissionhe did not believe he had the power as a GPEB investigatortotell a service provider to refuse money, seize suspicious cash or ban a patron. He said his bosses told him not to interview patrons for more information on where their cash came from.

Ackles and Barber both said theydid not have clearance todirectly investigate suspicious incidents for a number of reasons, including the complexity of an investigation, riskof violence and legislative limitations. Any comprehensive investigation, theysaid, would be under the RCMP's jurisdiction.

Several lawyers grilled the menon cross-examination, asking them to explain why theycouldn't do more.

Robin McFee, counsel for B.C. Lottery Corporation (BCLC)president James Lightbody, asked Ackleswhether the RCMPever investigated any of the reports Ackles "spent so much time preparing."

Ackles responded by saying Mounties "had an interest" in one case in 2015, but it ended with a stay of proceedings.

"It was frustrating," said Ackles, agreeing withMcFee. "It wasn't [a good expenditure of my time]."

The Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in B.C. was launched by the government after reports that illegal cash was helping to fuel the real estate, luxury car and gambling sectors in the province. A 2018 report said casinos in B.C. had"unwittingly served as laundromats" for the proceeds of crime as far back as 2011.

A section of the2018 report was devoted to the "testy relationship" between the BCLCwhich oversees casinos and the GPEB,which oversees gaming. It foundthetwo institutionswere often too busy fighting each other to properly focus on criminals in their midst.

Acklesand Barber acknowledged there could often be overlapbetween the Section 86 reports theirdepartment prepared and those prepared by BCLC staff. Corporationstaff, McFeesaid, often wonderedwhat the GPEB team was doing to take concrete action.

"I'm aware that from talking to the [BCLC] investigatorsthemselves that they were frustrated, yes," Ackles said.

Commission hearings continue this week in Vancouver.