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Five counts were included in the original indictment, including laundering the proceeds of crime and possession of property obtained by crime, CBC reported. The charges didn’t meet the threshold of a reasonable prospect of conviction and serving the public interest, the report said, citing Public Prosecution Service of Canada spokeswoman Nathalie Houle.

Since taking power last year, Premier John Horgan’s New Democratic Party-led government has been spearheading an anti-money laundering drive after finding that casinos in the Vancouver area served for years as “laundromats” for domestic and international crime organizations. Eby’s office has hired an independent investigator to review potential links between criminal proceeds flowing into the province’s casinos, real estate, luxury cars and horse betting.

Earlier this week, Global News reported that a secret police study into more than 1,200 luxury real estate purchases in the Vancouver area in 2016 found that more than 10 per cent were tied to buyers with criminal records — of those, 95 per cent were believed to be linked to Chinese crime networks.

“This is a crisis for our province,” said Eby, who has pleaded with the federal government for resources and a coordinated national approach to combating money laundering. “It is a disturbing signal that a prosecution of this magnitude collapses.”

The investigation was the largest into money laundering in B.C. history, in terms of data and money involved, and one of the biggest in Canada, Eby said.

Bloomberg.com