Vancouver Liberals on crime money: ban Bitcoin ATMs, phase out exchanges, payday loans
The Vancouver Liberals say they would ban Bitcoin ATMs, gradually eliminate currency exchanges and money marts used to launder money, replace payday loan shops with trusted institutions like Pigeon Park Savings, and stop ideas such as heating pools with bitcoin servers.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Money Laundering and Organized Crime: what the Kareem's Plan for a Better Vancouver says
Money laundering is the Vancouver Liberals' main public safety theme. Laundering means moving money made from crime through ordinary businesses so that it looks legal. The party says it is one of the root causes of crime in the city, and that international drug cartels use Bitcoin to move money. It points to warnings from FINTRAC, the federal agency that supervises Canada's anti-money laundering rules, and from the Vancouver Police Department that Bitcoin ATMs are often linked to laundering, fraud, organized crime and drug trafficking.
The party's answer is to shut down Bitcoin ATMs in Vancouver. It says that hundreds of machines still operate despite a unanimous vote to ban them. It would also gradually eliminate currency exchanges that allow unchecked transactions, and shut down money marts it says are used to launder money, replacing payday loan shops with trusted institutions such as Pigeon Park Savings. It says it would stop what it calls ridiculous ideas like heating city pools with bitcoin servers.
The page frames its approach with a reference to the television crime boss Tony Soprano: the party says it would go after criminals at the top of the crime pyramid and stop the proceeds of crime there. It links the disorder on city streets to what it calls drug kingpins living in penthouses in Coal Harbour and Yaletown.
The city's main tool here is the business licence, which Council controls, along with zoning that decides where kinds of shops may open. Criminal law and the rules on money laundering are federal, so arrests and charges belong to the police and federal agencies.
5 COMMITMENTS
What the party says it would do
Ban Bitcoin ATMs
The Vancouver Liberals would ban Bitcoin ATMs in Vancouver and take stronger action against criminal activity tied to organized crime and the toxic drug crisis. The party says hundreds of machines still operate despite a unanimous vote to ban them.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The city issues business licences, which it can use on machine operators, while criminal law and money laundering rules are federal.
Gradually eliminate unchecked currency exchanges
The party would gradually eliminate currency exchanges that provide unchecked transactions, and shut down unregulated currency exchanges it says are used to launder criminal proceeds.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The city licenses businesses and zones commercial land, while rules on money transfers and laundering are federal.
Replace money marts and payday loan shops with trusted institutions
The party would shut down money marts used to launder criminal proceeds and replace payday loan shops with trusted institutions like Pigeon Park Savings.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The city controls business licences and zoning, and the platform does not say how it would bring a financial institution in to replace these shops.
Stop heating pools with bitcoin servers
The party says it would shut down ideas like heating city pools with bitcoin servers.
- Who has the power
- City, with others Council approves city projects and the Park Board runs the pools, so either body could decline such a plan.
Go after criminals at the top of the crime pyramid
The party says its plan is to go after what it calls Tony Soprano level criminals and stop the proceeds of crime at the top of the crime pyramid.
- Who has the power
- City, with others The Vancouver Police Board directs the police department and criminal law is federal, so Council's part is the police budget and city licensing.
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Where the power sits for this chapter
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about money laundering and organized crime
Do the Vancouver Liberals want to ban Bitcoin ATMs?
Yes. The Vancouver Liberals say they would ban Bitcoin ATMs in Vancouver. The party says FINTRAC and the Vancouver Police Department have linked the machines to money laundering, fraud and organized crime, and that hundreds still operate despite a unanimous vote to ban them (party issues page).
What is the Vancouver Liberals' plan for money laundering?
The Vancouver Liberals would ban Bitcoin ATMs, gradually eliminate currency exchanges that allow unchecked transactions, and replace payday loan shops with trusted institutions such as Pigeon Park Savings. The party calls money laundering a root cause of crime (party issues page).
What do the Vancouver Liberals say about payday loan shops?
The Vancouver Liberals say they would replace payday loan shops with trusted institutions like Pigeon Park Savings, and shut down money marts they say are used to launder criminal proceeds. The party does not say how the replacements would be brought in (party issues page).
Can Vancouver City Council stop money laundering on its own?
No. Criminal law and money laundering rules are federal. Council controls business licences and zoning, which is how the Vancouver Liberals' ban on Bitcoin ATMs and currency exchanges would work at city level. The Vancouver Police Board directs the police (party issues page).
What do the Vancouver Liberals mean by going after Tony Soprano level criminals?
Tony Soprano is the crime boss in the television series The Sopranos, and the Vancouver Liberals use the name for the people they want to target. The party says it would go after criminals at the top of the crime pyramid and stop the proceeds of crime there (party issues page).
ON THE BALLOT
The Vancouver Liberals candidates behind this
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Kareem's Plan for a Better Vancouver (Issues page) SAYS SO ITSELFVancouver Liberals · checked
- FINTRAC: Canada's financial intelligence unit and anti-money laundering supervisor Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) · checked