Trudeau says B.C. money laundering report is ‘extremely alarming’

EDMONTON — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says a report out of British Columbia on the extent that criminals are laundering their dirty money in Canada is extremely alarming and absolutely unacceptable.  

The report, done by a B.C. government panel, estimates $5 billion was laundered through the province’s real-estate market last year out of $47 billion in Canada as a whole.

The report estimates that illegal cash increased the cost of buying a home in B.C. by five per cent.

Trudeau says the report shows money laundering is hurting everyday people by disrupting the housing market and it needs to be stopped.

He says the federal government has strengthened audits on real- estate transactions, and federal Organized Crime Reduction Minister Bill Blair is working with provinces to do more.

Attorney General David Eby says money laundering is a national crisis.

The Canadian Press