CRA wants alleged B.C. money launderers to pay tax, penalties on $10 million of ‘undeclared’ income

The Canada Revenue Agency has filed tax reassessments on $10.6 million of alleged undeclared income from three people and a company accused in B.C.’s largest money-laundering investigation.

If the CRA’s charges stand, Paul King Jin, his wife Xiaoqi (Apple) Wei, Caixuan (Summer) Qin and Silver International, a now-defunct illegal Richmond-based underground bank, could face new tax payments and “gross negligence” penalties of more than $5 million.

All four parties are fighting the reassessments and penalties through appeals in the Tax Court of Canada, arguing the information used to make the reassessments violates their Charter rights because it came from a failed 2015 RCMP investigation into the money laundering case.

Of the parties, only Qin faced criminal charges as a result of the RCMP investigation, charges that were stayed in 2018. No criminal charges were laid against Jin and Wei in the case, which alleged as much as $220 million in dirty money was washed through wealthy Asian gamblers. Qin was accused of operating the underground bank. Jin was accused of receiving nearly $27 million from the bank during a 4-1/2 month period in 2015, as well as running extortion and illegal gambling operations in Richmond.