A woman who pleaded guilty to laundering $530,000 in cash — in exchange for bank drafts — was in Richmond Provincial Court for a sentencing hearing on Thursday, Aug. 21.
Crown is asking for 22 months' jail time for Alexandra Joie Chow, 37, while her defence lawyer argued a two-year sentence served in the community would be enough of a general and specific deterrence of this type of crime.
Chow was caught by undercover police officers taking large bundles of cash over seven months and exchanging them for bank drafts. For example, on May 13, 2021, she converted $700,000 into two bank drafts. The fee for this service was $3,500.
Chow, who works as a sous-chef, met the officers at a karaoke bar where she worked part-time.
While the rate for laundering the cash was five per cent, Chow told the officers she only received one per cent.
The undercover officers told Chow the funds being laundered were drug money.
After several similar transactions, Chow was arrested on Nov. 21, 2021. Charges weren’t sworn in, however, until November 2023.
Crown prosecutor David Hainey argued before Justice Richard Browning that this was a “sophisticated” money laundering operation.
Hainey said he understands this is the first conviction in B.C. of money laundering since the Cullen Commission inquiry.
Hainey summarized an excerpt of the Cullen Commission's report saying money laundering "has a significant impact on the citizens of the province and it's strictly bound up with crime that destroys communities and victimizes the most vulnerable members of society."
While Hainey said there was no evidence Chow was involved in drug trafficking, an aggravating factor is she thought she was assisting cocaine traffickers.
Hainey cited cases during the hearing to show that “people that assist — the money launderers who assist drug traffickers — bear similar levels of responsibility for the social ills that wreak havoc on the community as a result of drug trafficking.”
“The facilitation and the assistance with concealing and laundering the profits of that trade go hand in hand with the trade itself,” he added.
However, Chow’s defence lawyer, Josh Oppal, counter-argued that Chow wasn’t in a leadership position in the operation; rather, she was a low-level “worker.”
Oppal also said, while the operation might have been sophisticated, it wasn’t “markedly sophisticated” as it didn’t involve activity such as putting money into offshore accounts.
He noted Chow pleaded guilty, saving the court time and resources, she works full-time, has support in the community, has no prior criminal record and has had no breaches since bail conditions were imposed in November 2023.
Oppal said Chow isn’t a risk to reoffend, nor would she present a danger to society if she served her sentence in the community.
She also took full responsibility for her crimes and didn’t deny any responsibility or wrongdoing, he added.
“She appreciates it was wrong, it was illegal and it was extremely serious,” Oppal said. He added serving her sentence in the community, rather than in jail, would be "adequately punitive to drive home the message," and will still provide general and specific deterrence as well as denunciation.
At the end of submissions, Chow addressed the court, repeatedly apologizing.
Browning will render his decision on Nov. 24 in Richmond Provincial Court.
