Canada’s gaming field has been eyed as an enabler of money laundering practices throughout the years, evident by the multiple reports highlighting shortcomings across British Columbia. Now the York Regional Police announced potential links of the Italian Mafia to cash washed via Ontario gambling venues. The overall amount allegedly washed by the Figliomeni Crime Family had reached CA$70 million, as revealed by the law enforcement.
When it comes to money laundering, this spring saw shocking information being revealed by a report seeking more details about the criminal practice. Over the span of 2018, the national economy witnessed an estimated CA$46.7 billion being laundered via various sectors and projects. The gaming field is among the areas allowing cash washing for years on end, as the report noted. British Columbia managed to single-handedly launder about CA$7.4 billion of the overall amount.
Ontario Casinos Allegedly Enabled Money Laundering
As it became evident by the recent announcement coming from the York Regional Police, British Columbia casino venues have not been targeted as the sole locations where money laundering could take place. Ontario has supposedly enabled the laundering of Italian Mafia criminal proceeds over several years. The cash washing did not follow the Vancouver model previously referred to in various reports.
York Regional Police Det.-Sgt. Carl Mattinen revealed more about the criminal activities that were recently discovered. As many as nine individuals were recently cuffed, as they might be linked to the Italian Mafia. On a regular basis, the group of criminals participated in gaming activities on the premises of casino locations across Ontario. They gambled in a devoted manner, aiming to minimize their loss as much as possible.
This guaranteed that the cash won is washed clean, often reaching thousands of Canadian dollars a night. Mr. Mattinen stated that the figure gambled over several hours of gaming action ranged between CA$30,000 and CA$50,000. Following extensive investigation and monitoring, a police raid took place and extended over three days discovering various assets linked to the individuals and potentially purchased with dirty cash.
Assets for CA$35M Discovered in Police Raid
During the police raid, over CA$1 million in cash was bagged, as well as assets equating to CA$35 million. The organized crime group included many individuals guaranteeing its smooth operation. Along with the nine criminals overseeing it, 27 more were arrested for their alleged relation to the money laundering crimes.
According to Chief Eric Jolliffe, the criminals operating in the Greater Toronto Area were linked to the ‘Ndrangheta crime group based in Calabria, Italy. The dirty cash they had been laundering was generated by 11 café locations that were supposedly illegal gambling dens for people in the area. According to the allegations, popular gaming devices were available on site and players had the opportunity to gamble drawn by the promises of a windfall.
Players also had the opportunity to utilize a cash loan, but the criminals did not have their best interest at heart. Some of the arrested criminals were Angelo Figliomeni, the kingpin behind the entire organization, Emilio Zannuti, and Francesco Vitucci linked to the operation of the illegal gaming venues.
In addition to that, Vito Sili and Salvatore Oliveti among others were cuffed for the subsequent money laundering taking place at casino locations. Giacomo Cassano has a warrant issued for illegal gaming houses management too. Upcoming weeks would shed light on other crimes linked to the organized criminals, as a probe is in progress.
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