VANCOUVER – Even today the B.C. Liberals continue to blame RCMP for the money laundering problem in B.C., when it is the previous B.C. Liberal government themselves that refused to listen to the advice of RCMP, refused to crack down on dirty money and even dismantled the Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team, said Ravi Kahlon, New Democrat MLA for Delta North.

“Frankly, the actions of the B.C. Liberals on this issue are shameful and cowardly,” said Kahlon.

Rich Coleman, the former B.C. Liberal minister who dismantled the team, has been in hiding. Coleman was the first B.C. Liberal to criticize the RCMP on dirty money instead of taking their advice.

Former B.C. Liberal Finance Minister Mike De Jong is also nowhere to be seen. De Jong and his ministry buried a report and fired an investigator instead of effectively tackling the problem they knew had grown out of control.

This week, Andrew Wilkinson’s B.C. Liberals instead put forward new MLA Jas Johal to continue blaming the RCMP instead of accepting responsibility.

When asked why the previous B.C. Liberal government buried a report that laid out just how bad the situation was and why there was no action, Johal said, ”Based on what law enforcement said, we decided not to make a lot of that work public.”

However the RCMP quickly responded, issuing a statement that said, “At times, government is briefed on sensitive information concerning police investigations that cannot be released. However, it was the decision of government to disband [the Integrated Illegal Gaming Enforcement Team].”

“It’s shameful of Andrew Wilkinson and the B.C. Liberals to continue blaming the RCMP on dirty money when it was the B.C. Liberals who tried to silence the advice of police and investigators,” said Kahlon. “It’s cowardly of the B.C. Liberals to hide their MLAs and previous ministers most responsible for letting money laundering in B.C. to grow out of control, virtually unhindered.”