Securing a guilty plea in a British Columbia money laundering case that dates back to 2019 involved undercover officers and multiple search warrants, and organized crime investigators say they hope an 18-month jail sentence handed down this month is the first of many.
B.C.'s Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit said Monday that Alexandra Joie Chow's jail sentence is a "major milestone" in police efforts against organized crime in Canada.
"I would point out that there are very few investigations in B.C. that are done on money laundering, let alone making them actually to a courthouse," said Sgt. Sarbjit Sangha, spokeswoman for the unit which targets organized crime and gang activity.
The unit's illegal gaming investigative team started looking into suspected money laundering and loan sharking in 2019, and it's the first time in a decade that a money laundering investigation in B.C. has resulted in a jail sentence on a charge of laundering the proceeds of crime.
"I think that's significant and it speaks volumes to the type of investigations that are taking place now," Sangha said.
Chow, 37, was arrested in November 2021 after the investigation that involved more than $828,000 in laundered cash.
At the time of Chow's arrest along with a Vancouver man who was not ultimately charged, police seized several items, including three luxury vehicles, two bank drafts totally $50,000 and more than $10,000 in cash.
Chow, who's from Richmond, B.C., pleaded guilty in February to one count of laundering proceeds of crime after initially facing charges, including possessing proceeds of crime and entering into an agreement to receive interest at a criminal rate.
Police said the cash and bank drafts seized by investigators have been ordered forfeited by the court.
Sangha said the strength of the evidence collected helped secure Chow's guilty plea, and her sentencing highlights the effectiveness of complex, cross-agency investigations in dealing with illegal gaming with ties to organized crime.
"This is sending a very clear message, that if you are involved in laundering proceeds of crime, you could face jail time," she said. "And I think that was missing for a very long time."
She said illegal gaming investigators have more cases on the go, and this case is hopefully the first of many after years of other investigations falling short.
She said police were happy with the sentence, and would've been disappointed had the defence got its wish for Chow to get house arrest.
"We have more charges coming. They might not be specific to money laundering, but anything to do with illegal gaming houses or illegal gaming, we are investigating those," she said.
Sangha said the investigation gathered strong evidence, and other cases that have resulted in civil forfeitures but not criminal charges can't necessarily be lumped together with the successful case against Chow.
"We have come to a conclusion where somebody actually goes to jail, and I hope that we see more of that for sure," she said. "It's a work in progress … but it's definitely a step in the right direction."
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
