Canadian authorities are seeking to get ahold of some CAD75,000 (US$56,415) worth of casino chips confiscated from a Chinese high roller tagged in an alleged $1.4 million U.S. fraud case.
A lawsuit, filed by the director of civil forfeiture on June 13, targeted casino chips that the Canada Border Services Agency seized from Chinese-Australian VIP Dan Bai Shun Jin in May, according to a Postmedia News.
Jin was arrested by Canadian authorities at River Rock Casino in Richmond, British Columbia, on May 25 due to outstanding warrants that the U.S. court issued in connection with bad checks, worth an estimated $1.4 million, he passed in different Las Vegas casinos.
The suspected money launderer reportedly yielded several “documents relating to criminal proceedings involving Mr. Jin in Australia,” as well as documents linking him to the illegal importation of US$20,000 into Canada.
In its lawsuit, the director argued that the confiscated casino chips must remain with the British Columbia government since the item are used as “proceeds and instruments of unlawful activity.”
The director also questioned the capability of Jin to acquire casino chips, saying that the suspected money launderer did not have sufficient legitimate income.
“The casino chips and money have been used by Mr. Jin to engage in unlawful activities which variously resulted in, or were likely to result in, the acquisition of property, or interest in property, or cause, or were likely to cause serious bodily harm,” the director contends, according to the news outlet.
The defendant, who is set to be deported to the U.S., has not yet responded to the forfeiture case.
The Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the U.S. Internal Revenue Service placed Jin under investigationafter an AFP agent found vast discrepancies between his known income and his profligate gambling activity.
Jin insisted that he earns an annual salary of US$300,000 in China but he has yet to show proof of his claims. Authorities seized multiple real estate properties across the globe in 2013, believing that those were purchased by Jin using dirty money.
