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B.C. money laundering report granted extension until June 3 after COVID-19 delays

VANCOUVER — The deadline for the final report of British Columbia's public inquiry into money laundering has been extended until June 3. The B.C.
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Commissioner Austin Cullen listens to introductions before opening statements at the Cullen Commission of Inquiry into Money Laundering in British Columbia, in Vancouver, on Feb. 24, 2020. The deadline for the submission of the final report of the inquiry has been extended until June 3. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

VANCOUVER — The deadline for the final report of British Columbia's public inquiry into money laundering has been extended until June 3.

The B.C. government says in a statement the report's submission had previously been due May 20, but the extension is a result of several members of the Cullen Commission inquiry team contracting COVID-19.

Commissioner Austin Cullen says his team members have since recovered and are healthy and working on the report. 

Cullen himself did not contract COVID-19.

The province announced the inquiry in 2019 after a series of reports to the government found what the commission called "extraordinary" levels of money laundering in the real estate, casino, horse racing and luxury car sectors, fuelled in part by the illegal drug trade. 

The inquiry has heard from about 200 witnesses in hearings that started in May 2020.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 6, 2022.

The Canadian Press