More than $4 million in suspicious casino buy-ins allegedly traced to one man
CTV
An alleged money launderer racked up millions of dollars in transactions at several Toronto-area casinos, CTV News Toronto has learned.
An alleged money launderer racked up millions of dollars in transactions at several Toronto-area casinos, CTV News Toronto has learned.
Branavan Kanapathipillai's more than $4 million deposits and withdrawals over several years raised flags at various casinos, but it wasn't until last fall that a nearly $100,000 cash buy-in was seized in Niagara Falls -- and he apparently left the country, court documents obtained by CTV News Toronto say.
His buy-ins were a significant portion of the total suspicious transactions reported across Ontario gaming facilities, which roared back from a pandemic low of $116 million to $372 million last year, records show.
Kanapathapillai’s apparent ease in depositing and withdrawing millions over the span of years shows that while casinos are reporting the transactions, those reports aren’t being acted on fast enough, said retired RCMP money laundering specialist Garry Clement.
“It’s a terrible thing to say, but it’s open season for individuals like this,” Clement said in an interview this week, saying that casinos need to do more than file reports — they must also take steps to keep the individual out.
“These seem pretty obvious. There’s more to this than just gambling,” he said.
