Court ruling releases $2 million back to accused in B.C.’s biggest money-laundering case | Vancouver Sun - Gordon Hoekstra:
September 13, 2019 - "A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that an interim freeze of assets in B.C.’s biggest money-laundering case was done improperly, and has ordered the release of $2 million in cash to the accused.
"In a ruling released Friday, B.C. Supreme Court associate chief justice Heather Holmes concluded the Civil Forfeiture Office did not provide a fair and complete legal basis to consider the need for an urgent freeze on the cash, a $2-million house, casino chips, gift cards and jewelry. Providing a fair and complete legal basis was particularly important, according to Holmes’ ruling, given that the decision took place in an ex parte hearing, where the defence lawyer was not present.... Holmes agreed to another freeze order on the other assets, but excluded the cash.
"In the civil forfeiture suit, Caixan Qin and her spouse Jian Jun Zhu are accused of running an underground bank in Richmond, called Silver International, that allegedly laundered as much as $220 million a year. The pair have denied any wrongdoing and said that search and seizures violated their Charter rights....
"The ... civil forfeiture case ... was launched immediately after criminal money-laundering charges were stayed against Qin and Zhu in late 2018. The threshold for proving a civil claim is lower than for a criminal conviction, a balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt. Provincial prosecutors were hoping to hit the accused in the pocketbook....
"Holmes noted that the lawyer for the civil forfeiture office allowed no room for opposing views of law, made no apparent effort to put forward the position the defendants’ lawyer would have taken, and also misstated the law on one foundation point that favoured the civil forfeiture office’s position.
“'The court must take the misconduct very seriously, because misleading statements in an ex parte hearing undermine the integrity of the process, and may even obliterate it,' wrote the judge.
"Following the stay in the criminal case, Holmes, who also presided in that case, had ordered the cash be returned to Qin and Zhu.
"The civil forfeiture office has 30 days to appeal the decision."
Read more: https://vancouversun.com/business/local-business/court-ruling-releases-2-million-back-to-accused-in-b-c-s-biggest-money-laundering-case
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September 13, 2019 - "A B.C. Supreme Court judge has ruled that an interim freeze of assets in B.C.’s biggest money-laundering case was done improperly, and has ordered the release of $2 million in cash to the accused.
"In a ruling released Friday, B.C. Supreme Court associate chief justice Heather Holmes concluded the Civil Forfeiture Office did not provide a fair and complete legal basis to consider the need for an urgent freeze on the cash, a $2-million house, casino chips, gift cards and jewelry. Providing a fair and complete legal basis was particularly important, according to Holmes’ ruling, given that the decision took place in an ex parte hearing, where the defence lawyer was not present.... Holmes agreed to another freeze order on the other assets, but excluded the cash.
"In the civil forfeiture suit, Caixan Qin and her spouse Jian Jun Zhu are accused of running an underground bank in Richmond, called Silver International, that allegedly laundered as much as $220 million a year. The pair have denied any wrongdoing and said that search and seizures violated their Charter rights....
"The ... civil forfeiture case ... was launched immediately after criminal money-laundering charges were stayed against Qin and Zhu in late 2018. The threshold for proving a civil claim is lower than for a criminal conviction, a balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt. Provincial prosecutors were hoping to hit the accused in the pocketbook....
"Holmes noted that the lawyer for the civil forfeiture office allowed no room for opposing views of law, made no apparent effort to put forward the position the defendants’ lawyer would have taken, and also misstated the law on one foundation point that favoured the civil forfeiture office’s position.
“'The court must take the misconduct very seriously, because misleading statements in an ex parte hearing undermine the integrity of the process, and may even obliterate it,' wrote the judge.
"Following the stay in the criminal case, Holmes, who also presided in that case, had ordered the cash be returned to Qin and Zhu.
"The civil forfeiture office has 30 days to appeal the decision."
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