Richmond councillor seeks ban on cash-only businesses
Kash Heed says city needs to target retail money launderers and tax cheats
A former police chief and B.C. solicitor general took the first step toward ending the cash-only economy in Richmond.
Coun. Kash Heed tabled a motion near the end of the Nov. 13 community safety committee meeting, calling for staff to draft a “regulation for council making a mandatory requirement that persons engaged in specific business activities must accept forms of payment in addition to cash.”
The motion passed and will be referred to a future city council meeting for debate and potential adoption.
“Given the fact that people don't necessarily carry cash to the extent they used to, given the fact that we have other problems related to cash-only businesses through our systems here in Canada,” Heed told the meeting. “I think, as a local government, businesses that are operating responsibly in our community should have an option for people, either to pay by cash or some other form of payment.”
Heed told theBreaker.news that his concern is rooted in the need to combat money laundering, tax evasion and robberies, based on information received about businesses that refuse to take debit or credit cards.
“The majority of our businesses in Richmond are responsible, there are few that are very irresponsible,” Heed said.
Richmond city hall refuses to take cash payments for property taxes and utilities.
The final report of B.C.’s Cullen Commission public inquiry on money laundering, released in June 2022, highlighted the dirty money scandal at Richmond’s River Rock Casino. It also examined trade-based money laundering, informal value transfer and bulk cash smuggling.
“Much money laundering activity occurs in the context of legitimate business sectors and takes advantage of gaps in regulatory oversight or understanding,” Commissioner Austin Cullen wrote. “However, money laundering also takes place in the informal or ‘underground’ economy, outside the regulated financial system.”
Cullen’s top recommendation was for the NDP government to appoint an anti-money laundering commissioner to sustain the fight against dirty money in all forms.
David Eby was the attorney general during the three-year commission and became premier five months after the report. So far, Eby has refused to hire an anti-money laundering commissioner.
Suspicious cash transactions were red-flagged at government liquor stores during the annual Premium Spirits Release promotion in 2021. One of those stores was in Richmond.