B.C. homicide investigators confirmed Monday that the man shot to death Friday night in Richmond was 44-year-old Jian Jun Zhu, who is also an alleged money launderer tied to an underground bank in the city.
Zhu died of gunshot wounds after an altercation at the Manzo restaurant on Capstan Way, according to the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (IHIT)
“A second shooting victim, a man in his fifties who has not been officially named but is also known to police, was treated for non-life threatening injuries and has since been released from hospital,” said IHIT
The Vancouver Sun reported the wounded man was Paul King Jin.
IHIT said the incident is believed to be targeted and is asking the public for help in identifying any vehicles involved. Any drivers with dash cam video from the area of Garden City Road between Capstan Way and Cambie Road between 6:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, are urged to contact IHIT immediately.
A media statement alluded to a high-level police investigation that is to follow,
“IHIT will be engaging all of its partners including CFSEU-BC and RCMP Federal Policing to identify those responsible,” said Sgt. Frank Jang, of IHIT.
Hundreds of millions of dollars of drug-laced cash were routinely emptied from suitcases onto the floors of a Richmond office, to be counted by Caixuan Qin and her spouse Zhu, for the purposes of money laundering, according to allegations documented in court by B.C.’s director of civil forfeiture.
In November 2018, federal Crown prosecutors, for undisclosed reasons, turfed the high-profile case of alleged money laundering involving Zhu’s money service business Silver International – which allegedly catered to local, Mexican and Chinese organized crime rings.
Initially, B.C. Supreme Court released $2 million to Zhu and Qin but a government appeal was successful in October 2019, after Justice Mary Newbury of the B.C. Court of Appeal granted a stay of the return of the money seized four years ago by the RCMP in the E-Pirate investigation.
What that means is that the cash will continue to be held under a freeze order, pending the outcome of a civil forfeiture case in B.C. Supreme Court. The government launched the forfeiture claim immediately after criminal money-laundering charges were stayed against Qin and Zhu.
Zhu is said to be the “operating mind” of the alleged scheme, which was estimated by the director to be a $220 million per year operation.
An affidavit of Cpl. Melvin Chizawsky notes Silver International’s business is predicated on the “Vancouver Model” of money laundering, outlined by Dr. Peter German in his report Dirty Money: An Independent Review of Money Laundering in Lower Mainland Casinos. Here, individuals from China send money through underground banks to Silver International accounts in China. The Richmond company then provides drug cash to the Chinese money launderers, who take the cash to a local casino.
Qin’s lawyer Matthew Nathanson addressed media near the time of the commencement of the forfeiture claim.
“We intend to litigate this case in court, not the media. However, until that occurs, it is important to keep in mind that none of the assertions made by the director of civil forfeiture have been proven. None of them have been tested in any way. They should not be reported as proven facts, because they are not. The only real fact at this point is that all charges against my clients were stayed,” he stated via email.
Jin is an alleged customer of Silver International and also faces several civil forfeiture claims.
Jin has a criminal record with convictions for aggravated assault, sexual assault and sexual exploitation, stated one of the director’s claims.
With files from Richmond News and North Shore News
