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So, what does the report say about the amount of money-laundering in British Columbia?

The origin of the $1-billion figure is not entirely clear.

The Financial Action Task Force says the source is Canada. The Canadian government says the information comes from the RCMP. In response to questions from Postmedia, the RCMP said the information was based “on operational information and estimates.”

READ MORE:Investigation: Few convictions for money laundering in B.C. since 2002

In a written statement, RCMP Cpl. Caroline Duval said the Financial Action Task Force also sought information from other sources and that may have influenced or contributed to the published estimate.

Experts say these types of evaluations are a problem in trying to get a handle on the size of money laundering.

“That’s the nature of corruption. You’ll never get an exact estimate,” says James Cohen, the executive director of Transparency International.

Says Christian Leuprecht, a Royal Military College of Canada professor: “It’s tough to know. … It’s clandestine and flies under the radar.”

According to a 2011 study by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the estimate for money laundered internationally is just under three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of the size of the economy.

That money-laundering figure is within estimates from the International Monetary Fund of between two and five per cent of GDP.

At three per cent of GDP, money laundering in Canada would be worth about $50 billion — and in British Columbia about $7 billion.