By Nick Valka

The BC Liberal party is being asked to return “dirty” donations once again.

Following fraud charges against prominent BC Liberal donor Paul Oei, the Liberal Party are being asked to return all of his donations.

IntegrityBC, a non-partisan and non-profit organization, discovered that Oei , along with his partner Loretta Lai , have donated $70,432.85 to the BC Liberal party since 2011. Oei’s company, Organic Eco-Centre Corp, also sponsored a luncheon in Richmond in July 2015 that featured now Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The BC Liberal party will have to make good on their statement last year, where they said they would return the funds, or forfeit them to Elections BC.

“We are committed to the highest standards of integrity with respect to fundraising and will follow through on our previous commitment regarding these donations,” David Wasyluk, a member of the B.C. Liberal party’s communications team, said.

Dermod Travis of IntegrityBC said that the money should go to the people who were victimized by Oei’s fraudulent dealings.

A British Columbia Securities Commission (BCSC) panel found last week that Paul Se Hui Oei and three companies he controlled, Canadian Manu Immigration & Financial Services Inc., 0863220 B.C. Ltd. and 0905701 B.C. Ltd., committed fraud.

The panel found that Oei alone committed fraud with respect to 63 investments in the aggregate amount of over $5 million.

Elections BC’s communications manager, Andrew Watson, is out of the office until the New Year and couldn’t be reached for comment.

“It would be best for Elections BC to make arrangements to turn that money over to the B.C. Security Commission,” Travis said. “This isn’t the first time where the BC Liberal party has accepted money that has been tied to fraudulent activity.”

In 2013, Chinese businessman Ni Ritao was investigated for bank-loan fraud, which involved a pulp mill in Prince Rupert. Ritao’s company, Sun Wave, along with another company connected to Ritao, donated $14,696 to the BC Liberal party between 2005 and 2007.

Andrew Wilkinson, current MLA for the electoral district of Vancouver-Quilchena, acted as Sun Wave’s legal representative on this matter until Mar. 27, 2012, at which point BC Liberal party vice-president Bill Belsey took over.

No timetable has been placed on when the party will return or forfeit the donations, but the BC Liberal party is on the clock and will continue to be monitored.

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[Photo: Loretta Lai and Paul Oei/Source:FACEBOOK]