Money Laundering report now in hands of BC Government, release to be deferred until later and government review

BC Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen has been conducting
a review of money laundering in the province over the last two years

Anticipation to learn more on the findings of a report into Money Laundering in British Columbia will continue to simmer just a bit longer, with the NDP government noting last week that  they will be holding off on releasing the findings to the public for the moment.

The report, authored by British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen, with input from his eleven team members comes following a public inquiry that examined the scope of the concerns over money laundering in the province.

In a notice provided by the Attorney General's office on Friday, it was noted that the office is currently reviewing the report and will release it as quickly as possible.

"The process for publicly releasing the commission's 1,804 page report is mandated by the Public Inquiry Act. Now that the report has been received, it is being carefully reviewed and will be publicly released as required under the act." -- From the BC Government Statement from Friday

The report had been delayed previous, originally set to be released on May 20th, that was extended to June 3rd at the request of the Commissioner. Over the course of the near two years of work of the commission, 198 witnesses were heard as part of the 133 evidentiary hearings that were conducted.

The commission was first given its task to explore the topic in May of 2019, the first hearings began in October of 2019, the final submissions taking place in October of 2021. 

In total the commission received 1,063 exhibits, making for 70,000 pages of exhibits and 20,000 pages of transcripts.

With the Legislature now adjourned for the summer, the prospect of a report that would for the most part be focused on the past time in office of the BC Liberals is one that perhaps will see a timeline towards later in the fall. 

A release closer to the fall session would surely make for larger headlines than in the dog days of summer   and with the exposure would offer a chance for the NDP to turn the tables on the Liberals when it comes to Legislature debating themes.

While we await the release of the report from Attorney General David Eby, you can catch up on some of the work of Mr. Cullen and his team from the Money Laundering Invsetiation Archive page that the Inquiry set up.

More notes related to the Legislature can be explored from our archive page.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.