B.C. Lotteries too slow on dirty money: regulator

A former senior government gaming regulator says the B.C. Lottery Corporation did not react quickly enough to protect the integrity of gaming in the province when it was under attack from organized crime.

Larry Vander Graaf, the former executive director of the B.C. Gaming Policy Branch, told the inquiry into money laundering that placing restrictions on cash buy-ins at casinos as early as 2009 could have deterred money launderers.

Vander Graaf, who was fired in 2014, says his call for $3,000 casino buy-in limits for those using $20 bills was not implemented because lottery officials said it could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt the money was illegal.

He says large amounts of suspicious cash started appearing at casinos in 2007 and by 2010 lone sharks were circling nearby parking lots with bags of money.

The B.C. government launched the public inquiry after reports outlined hundreds of millions of dollars in illegal cash impacted the real estate, luxury vehicle and gaming sectors in the province.

Former B.C. cabinet minister Kash Heed has been granted limited participant status at the inquiry into money laundering so he can cross-examine a former RCMP officer.