Article content continued

Postmedia asked BCLC if there could be any concerns that the cheques that couldn’t be located on site at River Rock were not properly marked.

“BCLC, in this instance, has taken the additional step to assist you by asking the service provider to obtain copies of the cheques that were not retained on site, from its bank,” a response says. “BCLC has followed up with its service provider to ensure ongoing compliance with policies related to financial records management.”

BCLC said after following up with the casino, it was able to obtain copies of the five cheques for Postmedia.

“In terms of the management of our financial records as part of the (patron) account program, we are fully compliant with BCLC policies,” Great Canadian Gaming chief operating officer Terrance Doyle said in a statement. He said BCLC and the gaming enforcement branch regularly audits casinos for anti-money-laundering compliance, including management of patron gaming accounts.

Of the 25 cheques examined by Postmedia, 23 are printed by machine. Information on the records released to Postmedia has been redacted for privacy reasons and because disclosure could be harmful to law enforcement.

One of the River Rock Casino cheques appears to have confusing labelling. It is a handwritten cheque for $600,000 that is marked “Great Canadian Casinos Inc. — Player Winning — River Rock.” And yet the cheque also contains a handwritten note that says “patron gaming fund cheque, no buy in.” BCLC has not been able to locate the cheque stub record for this October 2016 cheque, a response says.