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On Wednesday, the British Columbia Securities Commission ruled Oei, who denied the allegations, had swindled nearly $4 million from investors.

Oei and his companies “misappropriated these funds and used them for their own purposes and not as the investors were told they would be used,” the panel stated. Oei declined to comment.

British Columbia is trying to shed its reputation as a hotbed of financial crime and to curb international money laundering at its casinos, a practice the provincial attorney general said was known as the “Vancouver model.”

But it is unclear whether Oei will have to pay for his malfeasance. Although the commission is expected to impose penalties on Oei to recoup the fraudulently obtained funds, the provincial regulatory agency has faced criticism recently from the British Columbia government for its dismal enforcement record.

In response to an investigation last month by The Vancouver Sun that showed the commission had collected less than two percent of $398 million in financial penalties over the past decade, the B.C. finance minister, Carole James, called on the commission to improve its enforcement methods.

“It is disturbing to see the apparent lack of accountability for white collar criminals who have ruined people’s lives through financial fraud,” James said in an emailed statement.