Article content continued

The Canada Revenue Agency is also investigating, according to the civil suit.

Hobbs and Cheng have not responded to the suit, which contains allegations not proven in court. There was no response by phone Monday at the Vanbex Group office in Vancouver.

According to the court filing: “The criminal investigation is ongoing and currently no charges have been laid against either of the defendants.”

A criminal conviction is not necessary to launch civil forfeiture suits, which have a lower threshold for convictions than criminal cases, a balance of probabilities rather than beyond a reasonable doubt.

The court has granted a preservation order to prevent the assets from being sold or taking on more debt.

The three-bedroom townhouse with views of Coal Harbour was bought in late 2017 by Hobbs and Cheng for $4.1 million in cash, but was recently listed for sale at $7.88 million.

The 2017 and 2018 Range Rovers, owned by Hobbs, sell for as much as $90,000 and are still believed to be in his possession.

Hobbs is also accused of using the “misappropriated funds” to buy a Bay Street apartment in Toronto for just under $3.74 million and to purchase a three-year lease for a $500,000 2018 Lamborghini.

The civil suit says that Hobbs also used the misappropriated funds to gamble. He allegedly gambled nearly $1.82 million between late 2016 and March 2018 at B.C. casinos until he was put on a watch list and denied from buying-in at any casino with un-sourced cash or chips. Hobbs also gambled internationally, according to the court filings.