B.C. man accused of laundering $47M though online cannabis sales

Cannabis buds are seen in a close up in this undated stock image. (Terrance Barksdale/Pexels.com)

Mounties say a 30-year-old British Columbia man is facing multiple charges for his alleged role in laundering approximately $47 million through illegal online cannabis sales.

Burnaby resident Harry Seo was arrested by Vancouver police on Dec. 30, 2024. Investigators with the RCMP’s federal financial crime team allege Seo laundered the proceeds of crime and operated an unregistered money services business, contrary to the federal Proceeds of Crime and Terrorist Financing Act, between September 2018 and August 2020.

Seo is also charged with unauthorized possession of cannabis for the purpose of trafficking and commission of an offence for a criminal organization.

Investigators believe Seo used illicit online cannabis sales in B.C. and Alberta to launder money for a criminal network.

Six other people have already been charged in the case, including five who were convicted in earlier court proceedings.

Those individuals were not identified by name in a statement Thursday from the RCMP. The group includes four people from Edmonton ranging in age from 25 to 35, and one 30-year-old Chilliwack resident, according to investigators.

Those convicted all received conditional sentences and were ordered to forfeit tens of thousands of dollars to authorities.

The sixth person accused in the case, a 33-year-old resident of Brampton, Ont., has been charged with one count of failing to register a money services business with FINTRAC contrary to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing Act, police said. The accused is scheduled to stand trial at the Alberta Court of Justice in Edmonton on Nov. 3.

‘Extensive and complex investigation’

Police allege the criminal organization was comprised of several numbered companies based in B.C. and Alberta, which used illicit online cannabis dispensaries to launder money obtained through crimes.

The RCMP statement says an “extensive and complex investigation” found the criminal group also received millions of dollars through e-transfers for its illicit online cannabis sales

“Through email addresses linked to these e-transfer payments, officers were able to identify eight individuals who received a total of $47 million in proceeds of crime,” the statement said.

Authorities say Seo was compensated by the criminal network for laundering money and concealing its criminal origins from law enforcement and financial institutions, while also allegedly operating two illegal cannabis-related businesses in the Edmonton and Burnaby areas.

“This criminal organization operated throughout Western Canada to collect, transfer and benefit from approximately $47 million in proceeds of crime,” Insp. John Lamming of the RCMP’s financial integrity and cybercrime unit said in the statement.

“By partnering with FINTRAC and the Canada Revenue Agency, we collected a significant amount of evidence to demonstrate how this group laundered significant proceeds of crime earned from the sale of illegal cannabis. This was a substantial win in Canada’s fight against money laundering and criminal organizations who seek to undermine the economic integrity of Canada’s financial institutions.”

Seo is scheduled to appear in provincial court in Vancouver on Jan. 31.