$5 Billion Laundered Through B.C. Real Estate in 2018, Drove up Home Prices

Minister of Finance Carole James and Attorney General David Eby speak during a press conference at Legislature in Victoria, B.C., on May 9, 2019. The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito

VICTORIA—A report that estimates $5 billion was laundered through British Columbia’s real estate market last year also lifts the lid on the extent of illegal cash moving across Canada.

Some $7.4 billion overall was laundered in B.C. in 2018, out of an estimated total of $47 billion in Canada, concluded the report by an expert panel led by former B.C. deputy attorney general Maureen Maloney.