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Friday, August 31, 2018

Trudeau orders his new gang-busting minister to target money laundering in B.C.

Trudeau orders his new gang-busting minister to target money laundering in B.C.

VANCOUVER—The federal government wants to stop money laundering in B.C. and is asking one its ministers to focus on shutting it down.
In his most recent mandate letters to federal ministers, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau asked Bill Blair, minister of border security and organized crime reduction, to focus on ending money laundering in B.C.
Bill Blair, federal minister of border security and organized-crime reduction, has been asked to develop new policies and legislation and to “work closely” with provinces, cities, border agencies, law enforcement and community organizations.
Bill Blair, federal minister of border security and organized-crime reduction, has been asked to develop new policies and legislation and to “work closely” with provinces, cities, border agencies, law enforcement and community organizations.  (CHRIS YOUNG / THE CANADIAN PRESS FILE)
According to the letter, his “work should include a focus on cutting off money laundering which, as we have seen recently in British Columbia, support our efforts to counter guns, gangs and opioid distribution.” (sic)
The directive follows the release of a major report detailing how criminals are laundering money in B.C. casinos, and as the province examines money laundering in the real-estate sector.
The author of the B.C. government’s money-laundering report said he’s pleased with the directive and that Blair needs to ensure he co-ordinates with the provincial government.
“They’ve gotta be working together in lockstep on these issues,” said Peter German, president of the International Centre for Criminal Law Reform and Criminal Justice Policy as well as a former deputy commissioner for the RCMP.
Read more:
In the letter, Trudeau directs Blair to develop new policies and legislation that will reduce organized crime and gang activity in Canada and to “work closely” with provinces, cities, border agencies, law enforcement and community organizations.
German’s report found that at least $100 million has been laundered through casinos. It recommended creating an independent regulator that could monitor the industry as well as a specialized, around-the-clock police force to battle money laundering.
B.C. Attorney General David Eby asked the federal government for support in March, as authorities have watched hockey bags and shopping bags full of $20 bills get laundered at casino teller wickets in the Lower Mainland.
Solutions to the money-laundering crisis can be found, German said, but a steady flow of information between different agencies will be required.
“The proof is in the pudding,” he said, “and that is working together with local authorities and the province to make change.”
Trudeau appointed Blair, Toronto’s former police chief, to manage border security and organized crime in July. He delivered new mandate letters to several other ministers on Aug. 28 following his July cabinet shuffle.

Campaigners call on Theresa May to ban eating DOG MEAT in Britain as they claim the practice is on the rise

Campaigners call on Theresa May to ban eating DOG MEAT in Britain as they claim the practice is on the rise

  • Campaigners have called on Theresa May to ban the eating of dogs in Britain
  • The World Dog Alliance is launching a campaign to ban dog meat interaction
  • It believes immigration from the Far East is spreading the habit across Europe
  • US Congress is about to put in place a dog meat eating ban across America
Campaigners have called on Theresa May to ban the eating of dogs in Britain after claiming the disturbing practice is on the rise across Europe.
International canine welfare group, the World Dog Alliance (WDA), is launching a campaign in the UK this Autumn for a full ban on dog meat consumption.
Although the habit of eating canines is met with revulsion in most countries around the world, killing dogs to eat and consuming their meat is legal in Britain.
A vendor waits for buyers beside dogs in cages at a market in Yulin in southern China's Guangxi province 
A vendor waits for buyers beside dogs in cages at a market in Yulin in southern China's Guangxi province 
The Hong Kong based WDA believes immigration from the Far East is secretly spreading the habit of eating canines across Europe.
In America, a total ban on the import, trade and consumption of dog meat, which was promoted by the WDA, is about to be put in place by US Congress and has won the backing of a series of senior MPs.
In a statement, the WDA said: 'The UK is the first country in the world which enacts the Animal Welfare Act. It is unfortunate to see dog meat consumption being legal in this nation. The WDA believes a legal ban on eating dog meat would allow the UK to continue to have a global leading role in the field of animal protection, especially after UK leaves the EU.
'Local citizens in the Western countries barely eat dog meat, but the WDA worries that dog meat consumption may be spread to UK with immigration. In the US, people who eat dog meat are mainly immigrants from Asia.' 
Last night Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan said a ban on eating dogs is absolutely right
Last night Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan said a ban on eating dogs is absolutely right
Dogs' cruel fate uncovered in Chinese horror slaughterhouse video

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Downing Street said it will be examining the decision made by US Congress but did not clarify if it would support a ban.
Theresa May's official spokesman told a Westminster media briefing: 'The commercial trade in dog meat in the UK is illegal, but we will look closely at the decision taken in the US.
'Britain is a nation of animal lovers and we continue to have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world. We wish to maintain that.'  
Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan, who owns a prize-winning cockapoo called Noodle, has urged the Prime Minister to tackle the issue. 
Last night he dubbed a full ban 'absolutely right',The Sun reported.
Sir Alan said: 'There is no need in the modern world for this disgusting habit. We should nip it in the bud now to make sure the practice never takes off here. A civilised country is decent to animals, so let's be fully decent here.'   
Campaigners are calling on Theresa May to ban the eating of dogs in Britain
Campaigners are calling on Theresa May to ban the eating of dogs in Britain
Chairman of the All-party Parliamentary Dog Advisory Welfare Group Lisa Cameron MP is one of those supporting the ban on dog meat consumption.
She said: 'We are urging the Government to bring in a ban. We are concerned by the World Dog Alliances' report about dog food consumption in the UK.
'We want to send out a strong message that people don't want to see it here in the UK.'
The RSPCA has dismissed the idea that dog meat consumption is on the rise as its says existing legislation in the Animal Welfare Act 2006 prevents the widespread practice of it.   
In a statement, the RSPCA, said: 'It is illegal to sell dog meat to the public in the UK. There are also no abattoirs that have a licence to kill dogs and it would be against slaughter and animal welfare legislation too. So, while dog meat eating is not specifically banned here these laws mean that there is effectively a ban on the practice.'
'The RSPCA has no evidence that dog meat eating is on the rise in the UK, nor have we ever received any reports on this issue. While we do not believe it happens here, we continue to monitor the situation.' 
An estimated 30 million dogs a year are slaughtered to be eaten, across China, the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia - with most stolen off the street. Dog meat it is considered both a delicacy and a health tonic.
US Congress made its decision to ban the import, trade and consumption of dog meat after concerns that immigration from the Far East had seen it increase.
The WDA has also been urging Asian countries to ban dog meat consumption. 

For Political Reasons China Suppresses This Knowledge:Buddha Was An Aryan Siddhartha Gautama

Present day China doesn't want the world to know that a Caucasian peoples first lived there, creating a Golden Age not to be surpassed through to present times...Pyramids, Temples, Beautiful Clothing, Art, Literature, Medicines etc..The Uighur Peoples of Tibet are, in legend, reputed to be descended from them. Tall, Blond to Red Haired, Blue Eyed Peoples, of Nordic Decent.                                                                            
Could the peoples have links to the legendary and mysterious lost civilization of Mu/Lemuria?

FBI: Lisa Page /Bureau Bosses Covered Up Evidence China Hacked Hillary’s Top Secret Emails

FBI: Lisa Page Dimes Out Top FBI Officials During Classified House Testimony; Bureau Bosses Covered Up Evidence China Hacked Hillary’s Top Secret Emails


Former top FBI lawyer Lisa Page testified during two days of closed-door House hearings, revealing shocking new Intel against her old bosses at the Bureau, according the well-placed FBI sources.
Alarming new details on allegations of a bureau-wide cover up. Or should we say another bureau-wide cover up.
The embattled Page tossed James Comey, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok and Bill Priestap among others under the Congressional bus, alleging the upper echelon of the FBI concealed intelligence confirming Chinese state-backed ‘assets’ had illegally acquired former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s 30,000+ “missing” emails, federal sources said.
The Russians didn’t do it. The Chinese did, according to well-placed FBI sources.
And while Democratic lawmakers and the mainstream media prop up Russia as America’s boogeyman, it was the ironically Chinese who acquired Hillary’s treasure trove of classified and top secret intelligence from her home-brewed private server.
And a public revelation of that magnitude — publicizing that a communist world power intercepted Hillary’s sensitive and top secret emails — would have derailed Hillary Clinton’s presidential hopes. Overnight. But it didn’t simply because it was concealed.
FBI bosses knew of the breach yet did nothing to investigate, seemingly trying to run out the clock on the alarming revelations to protect Hillary during her heated presidential campaign with Trump. So instead of investigating the hacking of Clinton’s server, FBI bosses sat quietly.
And did nothing to confirm the Chinese assets were linked to their government. Or assess the damage such a tremendous breach posed to national security. Did the Chinese government access Hillary’s emails? The FBI didn’t care enough to investigate at the risk of besmirching Clinton and further soiling her during the election.
Hundreds of top secret documents and even the president’s daily travel and security itineraries were on that server — and intercepted by a communist country — yet the FBI sat on the evidence. Likewise, all of Clinton’s and her inner circle’s outgoing emails were compromised as well, sources confirmed.
Even the Inspector General had tipped off the FBI — specifically Strzok — about the foreign breach. Still, no timely case was pursued.
That same cover-up pattern fits FBI bosses who time after time stalled and concealed other criminal intelligence on Clinton in the weeks prior to the election.
We could write more detail here and ramble on and on but at this point, we simply ask.
Is anyone going to go to prison for politicizing the FBI and covering up countless crimes committed by FBI personnel in a variety of coordinated schemes to protect Hillary and the Democrats?

Thursday, August 30, 2018

Senior Canadian diplomat linked to ‘dangerous’ Macau casino investment

Senior Canadian diplomat linked to ‘dangerous’ Macau casino investment

And the federal employee was alleged to have received monthly cash payouts — delivered by hand in Vancouver — in a “dangerous” scheme that might have risked Canada Revenue Agency prosecutions, according to documents.
Hong Kong-based gambling mogul Stanley Ho
Stanley Ho



The Canadian foreign affairs veteran involved in the case, John Peter Bell, served in many top posts including as ambassador to Malaysia, before being linked to Stanley Ho – who is a gambling mogul linked to Chinese organized crime, according to U.S. documents.
Bell served as Canada’s chief federal negotiator for B.C. First Nations land claims, records show, at the time he entered into his Macau business deal.
But in an interview with Global News, Bell said he did not directly invest with Ho in Macau, but rather forwarded a $250,000 US loan (worth about $375,000 in Canadian dollars) to a consortium of Ho’s VIP room investors, including Bell’s cousin.
“I can’t say much about this room. All I know is that the consortium of people that funded it, and every month they got a return, and paid it out,” Bell said.
“Did I think I was dealing with crooks? No. These people invested in a room in a casino. Did I think they were stealing money, this was the time the Chinese were trying to get rid of their money, and so on? I wasn’t worried about regulations being broken, or anything. I mean, I was two steps away.”
In researching this previously unreported case, Global News reviewed affidavits and evidence filed in B.C. Supreme Court — including emails, legal, banking and accounting records created from 2000 to 2011 — as well as corporate and government records.
After reviewing evidence gathered by Global News, Transparency International Canada’s Denis Meunier — a former deputy director of anti-money laundering agency Fintrac, and former director of criminal investigations with the CRA — said he has never before seen a case in which a Canadian investor profited from Macau VIP rooms.
And as B.C. citizens try to understand how Macau-style VIP gambling has led to large-scale money laundering in B.C. Lottery casinos, evidence in the case raises red flags, “worthy of further investigations,” Meunier said.


Bell was introduced to the Macau investment by his cousin, West Vancouver man David Stuart Levy. The pair enjoyed a “mutually beneficial relationship” in a scheme that involved Levy’s Hong Kong-based factory inspection business, Levy’s Macau VIP room investment, and elite business connections that Bell introduced to Levy, B.C. Supreme Court filings say.
According to Levy, Bell’s investment in Macau started in 2000, when Bell and Levy visited one of Ho’s casinos. They also visited sites where Levy’s company, Quality Control Services, inspected Chinese factories, in order to certify shipments to North American retailers.
B.C. Supreme Court documents provide no explanation of how Levy was introduced to Ho’s VIP room lease.
In the general time period of the case, Ho’s casinos — and specifically VIP rooms leased by Ho — were widely reported to be connected to Triad turf wars, and murders in Macau. And according to U.S. documents, Ho’s VIP rooms were allegedly connected to the laundering of criminal proceeds from corruption in China, loan sharking, drug trafficking, and prostitution. Ho, who is now 96, has always denied links to money laundering and Triads.
U.S. documents say that Ho’s VIP rooms afforded anonymity to corrupt Chinese officials, who were able to secretly export their ill-gotten wealth by using organized crime networks and high-limit betting in Macau.
In emails filed in the case, Bell referred to his Macau investment of $250,000 US as a “loan” to Levy.
But Levy, in an affidavit filed in 2010, said there was no loan.
“Bell became an equal member of a group of investors who owned a ‘share’ of a lease of a VIP gaming room … leased by Stanley Ho.”
From 2000 to 2004, the deal was extremely profitable for both men, according to Levy. Levy alleged that he paid up to $150,000 US to Bell, travelling to Vancouver about ten times per year, to hand-deliver Bell casino cash. The amounts varied based on monthly takes in the VIP room, according to emails and accounting records, Levy said.
At some point, Levy claims that Bell became concerned Levy delivered him cash too infrequently. Levy alleges Bell set up a bank account in Hong Kong, and Quality Control Services was used to deposit Macau profits to Bell’s account.
These international transactions could have interested Canadian investigators, according to both Bell and Levy’s emails, filed in court by Levy.
“I certainly do appreciate your facilitating my payment on your returns to Vancouver, but we should discuss a fallback position,” Bell emailed to Levy in April 2002. “We can make transfers to you, but this will leave a paper trail and potential for future opening up a can of worms for you.”
“That email raises red flags that are worthy of further investigations,” Meunier said, in an interview.
“Why would that statement ever be made, if everything is above board?”
An affidavit filed by Levy raised similar concerns.
“I believe the payment of the casino proceeds by cash and then later to the HK account was a means for Bell to evade income tax on those monies,” Levy said. “I was also aware that Bell expected or understood that my family members who were receiving the same casino proceeds were similarly evading income taxes.”
In response to repeated questions from Global News, the CRA did not answer whether any evidence in this case pointed to illegal activity.
A CRA spokesman said, “income from illegal activities or illicit businesses – such as illegal gambling and fraudulent business schemes – are not exempt from tax and must be reported and/or disclosed by Canadian taxpayers.”
‘POTENTIAL PROSECUTION’
As tension rose between Bell and Levy, over Bell’s “Macao (sic) … return” the men exchanged more emails, which according to Meunier, raise further red flags.
Levy emailed Bell in September 2004, requesting that Bell include Levy in a meeting of the Vancouver-based Asia Pacific Foundation — at an event, Levy’s email said, where ambassadors, politicians, and business leaders would discuss trade opportunities with China. Levy also asked if Bell could get him a role “with the AFP.”
Bell emailed back, complaining that Levy had not recently paid Bell for “Macao (sic)” or his monthly commissions on a Chinese factory inspection deal for a large Canadian retailer, that Bell had facilitated.
Bell said he would convey Levy’s interests at a meeting with Asia Pacific Foundation president John Wiebe — but he wanted something in return.
“He is an old friend as is Yuan Pau Wau (sic) and the other key people (at APF),” Bell wrote. “I’ll bring up your interest when I talk to Wiebe … my memory will be sharper if my interests … have been addressed.”
WATCH: Report examining money laundering in B.C. casinos released

Levy emailed back, saying Bell’s approach was improper: “The motivator is not fair! The reason why I do not allow anyone in my office to handle Macau is for obvious reasons. It is not only a highly confidential issue but a dangerous one as well!”
“Another red flag that is raised, is the appearance of a quid pro quo between a federal public servant, and a private investor and family member,” Meunier said, in an interview. Bell was chief federal negotiator for B.C. First Nations land claims from 1999 to 2006, according to his biography, and Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada documents.
The business relationship continued to deteriorate, and in September 2005, Bell went to Levy’s home in West Vancouver, and emerged with a signed agreement from Levy for repayment of “US$250,000 invested in Macau.”
A February 2007 letter to Levy’s lawyer, said Bell’s preference was to settle privately with Levy — but Bell was ready to hire a tax lawyer and go to the CRA.
“Public exposure may create certain hardships for both our respective clients,” the letter states. “Nevertheless, our client will be taking steps to mitigate any potential prosecution and or fines imposed by the CRA, that may result from this litigation.”
WATCH: How corruption suspects could be laundering funds in B.C.

Levy made some payments to Bell, but the agreement collapsed. Bell sued, and eventually enforced repayment of $225,000 US from Levy. Levy defended the lawsuit, alleging that Bell forced him to sign a repayment agreement under duress.  Levy also counterclaimed against Bell for breach of contract and defamation.
In an affidavit, Levy claimed “Bell threatened he could ‘bring us all down’ because he was very well connected.”
“I believed that Bell had the ability to carry out his threats,” Levy’s affidavit says. “I believed he would have many contacts within the Canadian government, including the CRA.”
But Bell denied Levy’s account. And in 2011, B.C. judges rejected Levy’s appeal.
In an interview, Bell emphatically denied that he threatened Levy with his powerful connections.
“I told him I was going to sue him, and it was in his interest to pay me back my money, because he would be exposed,” Bell said.
“He used me, and my connections, to ingratiate himself with all kinds of senior people in government, and in the foreign service, which is quite embarrassing to me.”
Asked if he had risked CRA prosecution, or should have known better than to allow himself to be linked to a VIP room leased from Stanley Ho, Bell insisted he did nothing illegal.
“There was 100 per cent no impropriety, and to make absolutely sure, I did a full disclosure on my financial things with the CRA,” Bell said. “That’s what my major thing was. Not that I was getting into a crooked deal, like with gangsters. The thing was, I relied on my cousin, and his connections.”
Global News attempted to contact David Levy through his lawyer in the case, and by calling and emailing Levy’s business addresses. Levy could not be reached, for comment. A listed number for the Vancouver office of Quality Control Services, was out of order.
Attorney General David Eby introduces the potential PR referendum questions at the B.C. Legislature on May 30, 2018.

Attorney General David Eby introduces the potential PR referendum questions at the B.C. Legislature on May 30, 2018.
Richard Zussman/Global News
A number of B.C. government documents – including former RCMP executive Peter German’s independent review — have established that Macau-style VIP gambling and junket lending has taken root in B.C. Lottery casinos, since about 2002.
German cited an academic report, that dubbed this the “Vancouver Model” of transnational money laundering – with criminal transactions flowing between B.C. casinos, Chinese factories, and facilitator companies in Hong Kong.
These operations — connected to organized crime in B.C., Macau, Hong Kong and China — have used ultra-wealthy Chinese VIP gamblers recruited from Macau, police reports say, and provided these high-rollers bundles of suspected drug money to buy chips, in private high-limit betting rooms in B.C. casinos.
Just as in Macau, the VIPs can pay back these gambling loans in China, for small interest fees. It is a way to get wealth offshore, avoiding China’s tight capital export controls, and to launder casino winnings in Canadian assets. Loan repayments are enforced with security on luxury real estate and vehicles, and the threat of violence.
B.C. Attorney General David Eby has asked German to probe how Macau-style casino money laundering schemes are connected to money laundering in B.C.’s real estate market.
sam.cooper@globalnews.ca