Hail of bullets kill an accused China-Vancouver money launderer – and shatter myth of a victimless crime
- Jian Jun Zhu, shot dead in a Canadian restaurant hit, had been accused of processing more than US$165 million per year through his underground bank
- An anti-money-laundering expert says the shooting suggested someone did not want investigations into the underground bank to proceed
At least seven bullets raked through the tinted windows of the Manzo Itamae Japanese Restaurant in the Vancouver satellite of Richmond, at around 7.30pm on Friday night.
The shooter fired from the northeast, at an angle almost parallel to the glass; the bullets ripped long paths through the thick pane. One round also punched finger-sized holes in the metal window frame, before tearing a 10cm (4-inch) gouge through the laminated glass at head height.
Dining on the other side of the window were accused money launderers Jian Jun Zhu and Paul King Jin. Zhu, 44, was killed. Jin, aged in his 50s, was wounded in the face.
The brazen attack, which investigators have characterised as a targeted hit on two men well known to police, also shattered any illusions about money laundering being an innocuous offence, in a city that lends its name to a particular method of smuggling money in and out of China – the “Vancouver Model”.
Both Zhu and Jin were the subject of investigations into Zhu’s alleged underground bank, Silver International, that officers suspected was laundering more than C$220 million (US$165 million) per year.
Although a criminal case against Zhu collapsed in 2018, the BC government launched ongoing lawsuits against both Zhu and his suspected client Jin, seeking the forfeiture of millions worth of cash, real estate and casino chips.