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Wilful Blindness, How a network of narcos, tycoons and CCP agents Infiltrated the West
In 1982 three of the most powerful men in Asia met in Hong Kong. They would decide how Hong Kong would be handed over to the People's Republic of China and how Chinese business tycoons Henry Fok and Li Ka-Shing would help Deng Xiaoping realize the Chinese Communist Party's domestic and global ambitions. That meeting would not only change Vancouver but the world. Billions of dollars in Chinese investment would soon reach the shores of North America's Pacific coast. B.C. government casinos became a tool for global criminals to import deadly narcotics into Canada and launder billions of drug cash into Vancouver real estate. And it didn't happen by accident. A cast of accomplices - governments hungry for revenue, casino, and real estate companies with ties to shady offshore wealth, professional facilitators including lawyers and bankers, an aimless RCMP that gave organized crime room to grow - all combined to cause this tragedy. There was greed, folly, corruption, conspiracy, and wilful blindness.
Decades of bad policy allowed drug cartels, first and foremost the Big Circle Boys - powerful transnational narco-kingpins with ties to corrupt Chinese officials, real estate tycoons, and industrialists - to gain influence over significant portions of Canada's economy. Many looked the other way while B.C.'s primary industry, real estate, ballooned with dirty cash. But the unintended social consequences are now clear: a fentanyl overdose crisis raging in major cities throughout North America and life spans falling for the first time in modern Canada, and a runaway housing market that has devastated middle-class income earners. This story isn't just about real estate and fentanyl overdoses, though. Sam Cooper has uncovered evidence that shows the primary actors in so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering have effectively made Canada's west coast a headquarters for corporate and industrial espionage by the CCP. And these ruthless entrepreneurs have used Vancouver and Canada to export their criminal model to other countries around the world including Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Cooper finds that the RCMP's 2019 arrest of its top intelligence official, Cameron Ortis, raises many frightening questions. Could Chinese transnational criminals and state actors targeting
Canada's industrial and technological crown jewels have gained protection from the Mounties? Could China and Iran have insight into Canada's deepest national security secrets and influence on investigations? Ortis had oversight of many investigations into transnational money laundering networks and insight into sensitive probes of suspects seeking to undermine Canada's democracy and infiltrate the United States, according to the evidence Cooper has found.
Wilful Blindness is a powerful narrative that follows the investigators who refused to go along with institutionalized negligence and corruption that enabled the Vancouver Model, with Cooper drawing on extensive interviews with the whistle-blowers; thousands of pages of government and court documents obtained through legal applications; and large caches of confidential material available exclusively to Cooper.
The book culminates with a shocking revelation showing how deeply Canada has been compromised, and what needs to happen, to get the nation back on track with its "Five Eyes" allies.
Decades of bad policy allowed drug cartels, first and foremost the Big Circle Boys - powerful transnational narco-kingpins with ties to corrupt Chinese officials, real estate tycoons, and industrialists - to gain influence over significant portions of Canada's economy. Many looked the other way while B.C.'s primary industry, real estate, ballooned with dirty cash. But the unintended social consequences are now clear: a fentanyl overdose crisis raging in major cities throughout North America and life spans falling for the first time in modern Canada, and a runaway housing market that has devastated middle-class income earners. This story isn't just about real estate and fentanyl overdoses, though. Sam Cooper has uncovered evidence that shows the primary actors in so-called "Vancouver Model" money laundering have effectively made Canada's west coast a headquarters for corporate and industrial espionage by the CCP. And these ruthless entrepreneurs have used Vancouver and Canada to export their criminal model to other countries around the world including Australia and New Zealand. Meanwhile, Cooper finds that the RCMP's 2019 arrest of its top intelligence official, Cameron Ortis, raises many frightening questions. Could Chinese transnational criminals and state actors targeting
Canada's industrial and technological crown jewels have gained protection from the Mounties? Could China and Iran have insight into Canada's deepest national security secrets and influence on investigations? Ortis had oversight of many investigations into transnational money laundering networks and insight into sensitive probes of suspects seeking to undermine Canada's democracy and infiltrate the United States, according to the evidence Cooper has found.
Wilful Blindness is a powerful narrative that follows the investigators who refused to go along with institutionalized negligence and corruption that enabled the Vancouver Model, with Cooper drawing on extensive interviews with the whistle-blowers; thousands of pages of government and court documents obtained through legal applications; and large caches of confidential material available exclusively to Cooper.
The book culminates with a shocking revelation showing how deeply Canada has been compromised, and what needs to happen, to get the nation back on track with its "Five Eyes" allies.
392 pages, Hardcover
First published May 4, 2021
182 people are currently reading
1515 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 85 reviews
May 28, 2021
I have been trying to understand the recent housing crisis here in Canada.
This was the best read on that subject.
As someone who worked in finance for over 7 years, I found this book incredibly fascinating.
It outlined so much about where the money comes from, how it is used, and what is being done with it. Lots of really interesting strategies to get around various tax or legislative controls.
Sam is an excellent writer. The book was captivating and interesting throughout. Some really impressive research and journalism.
This was an absolute shock of a read. Jarring information. Really troubling!
Highly recommended.
5.0/5
This was the best read on that subject.
As someone who worked in finance for over 7 years, I found this book incredibly fascinating.
It outlined so much about where the money comes from, how it is used, and what is being done with it. Lots of really interesting strategies to get around various tax or legislative controls.
Sam is an excellent writer. The book was captivating and interesting throughout. Some really impressive research and journalism.
This was an absolute shock of a read. Jarring information. Really troubling!
Highly recommended.
5.0/5
May 31, 2021
A must read for all Canadians before the next election! Provincial or a federal.
So much hard work and dedication to the truth, is the result of this amazing book!
Sam’s perseverance and relentless pursuit of going down rabbit holes to expose the inner workings of the corruption and political ties of our leaders, is exactly, what the federal government and law enforcement needs to be doing!
This book reads like a Hollywood blockbuster! A real turn page turner. Sadly this is not a fictional tail, but an actual account of truth that is STILL being carried out across Canada.
Sam has rung the alarm for years about this corruption and now it’s been assembled into a comprehensive novel, that will hopefully kick the doors down to the fullest extent of the law!
Strong work Sam!
So much hard work and dedication to the truth, is the result of this amazing book!
Sam’s perseverance and relentless pursuit of going down rabbit holes to expose the inner workings of the corruption and political ties of our leaders, is exactly, what the federal government and law enforcement needs to be doing!
This book reads like a Hollywood blockbuster! A real turn page turner. Sadly this is not a fictional tail, but an actual account of truth that is STILL being carried out across Canada.
Sam has rung the alarm for years about this corruption and now it’s been assembled into a comprehensive novel, that will hopefully kick the doors down to the fullest extent of the law!
Strong work Sam!
June 27, 2024
This should have been a five star read with the information provided but it read like a notebook hodge podge of data.
One billion dollars a year is laundered through Vancouver Casinos and little was done about it. That was ~$2.5 million a day. When brought to the attention of management they didn't think people coming in with hockey bags full twenty dollar bills (eg $500,000) was an issue. They were loan sharks that doled the money out to high rollers from China. After an hour of betting they'd cash in their chips for $100 bills. Those packets of $100 bills went to a real estate office who purchased homes that remained largely empty but pushed real eastates values up due to the volume of homes bought. 30% of sales were to Chinese (but developers wouldn't provide that figure to the press nor authorities).
The twenties came from selling drugs (opiods, fentanyl etc) to poor addicts in downtown Vancouver. It was a complicated system involving shady characters passing off the money such that only about 60% got invested in real estate. The other 40% was considered cost of laundrying money in paying the runners and losses to the casinos. The Casinos were making billions annually and the BC provincial government was benefitting from the revenue generated.
[For every million generated by $20/drug hits implies 50,000 addicts shooting up every day!]
The author also covers gambling in Macau with Canadian connections and how money to get into Canada (as an investor) ends up in the Prime Minister's riding.
Vancouver being an easy place to launded money other organized crime took hold such as 3600 cars (that's ~ten a day) are stolen every year (mostly Lexus, Mercedes and BMW, the same kind of cars the gangsters drove) and shipped to Hong Kong. Murder was on the increase. Counterfit credit cards (with $10,000 limits) were produced by the hundreds.
In the middle of the book are sixteen pages of charts, photos and diagrams but there are as many as six per page so they are too small to make out. The Publisher would have done to put one image per page. One photo included an image of a gangster shaking hands with a Prime Minister. It didn't say who > but looked like Justin Trudeau (but it was hard to make out even with a magnifying glass). Later in the book confirms it was him.
Although awkwardly written the content should be of concern yet as Randy Royer notes in his book "A View from the Bottom*" Candians are complacent about corruption in our government.
Other Liberal MPs are noted to have "involvement" in dubious financial connections. Senator Larry Campbell, and former Vancouver Mayor (who the TV show "Davinci's Inquest was based on) and author of "One Thousand Dreams: Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and the Fight For It's Future" is noted to have chaired up the main Casino where the daily laundry money was going on > he refused to answer questions about the dealings.
Further on in the book the author notes that Chinese Party interference in Canadian elections is greater than Russian interference in American elections. The last chapters note the Wuhan covid virus was known in China much earlier than thought and that China recalled PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from Canada only to resell it at much higher mark up.
One billion dollars a year is laundered through Vancouver Casinos and little was done about it. That was ~$2.5 million a day. When brought to the attention of management they didn't think people coming in with hockey bags full twenty dollar bills (eg $500,000) was an issue. They were loan sharks that doled the money out to high rollers from China. After an hour of betting they'd cash in their chips for $100 bills. Those packets of $100 bills went to a real estate office who purchased homes that remained largely empty but pushed real eastates values up due to the volume of homes bought. 30% of sales were to Chinese (but developers wouldn't provide that figure to the press nor authorities).
The twenties came from selling drugs (opiods, fentanyl etc) to poor addicts in downtown Vancouver. It was a complicated system involving shady characters passing off the money such that only about 60% got invested in real estate. The other 40% was considered cost of laundrying money in paying the runners and losses to the casinos. The Casinos were making billions annually and the BC provincial government was benefitting from the revenue generated.
[For every million generated by $20/drug hits implies 50,000 addicts shooting up every day!]
The author also covers gambling in Macau with Canadian connections and how money to get into Canada (as an investor) ends up in the Prime Minister's riding.
Vancouver being an easy place to launded money other organized crime took hold such as 3600 cars (that's ~ten a day) are stolen every year (mostly Lexus, Mercedes and BMW, the same kind of cars the gangsters drove) and shipped to Hong Kong. Murder was on the increase. Counterfit credit cards (with $10,000 limits) were produced by the hundreds.
In the middle of the book are sixteen pages of charts, photos and diagrams but there are as many as six per page so they are too small to make out. The Publisher would have done to put one image per page. One photo included an image of a gangster shaking hands with a Prime Minister. It didn't say who > but looked like Justin Trudeau (but it was hard to make out even with a magnifying glass). Later in the book confirms it was him.
Although awkwardly written the content should be of concern yet as Randy Royer notes in his book "A View from the Bottom*" Candians are complacent about corruption in our government.
Other Liberal MPs are noted to have "involvement" in dubious financial connections. Senator Larry Campbell, and former Vancouver Mayor (who the TV show "Davinci's Inquest was based on) and author of "One Thousand Dreams: Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and the Fight For It's Future" is noted to have chaired up the main Casino where the daily laundry money was going on > he refused to answer questions about the dealings.
Further on in the book the author notes that Chinese Party interference in Canadian elections is greater than Russian interference in American elections. The last chapters note the Wuhan covid virus was known in China much earlier than thought and that China recalled PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) from Canada only to resell it at much higher mark up.
May 29, 2021
Reads like a John le Carré’s novel. Only this is not fictional but a documentary.
August 19, 2021
This book kept me up at night.
Sam Cooper has courageously given us a sobering look into the dark world of evil and corruption. Until the Canadian government and law enforcement authorities have the will to fight this war, until we can say no to the dirty money of the Chinese Communist Party, we will never turn the tide in this war against drugs, money laundering, and Red China's attempt to infiltrate and strike at the very heart of the fabric of Canadian society.
With a Federal Election looming around the corner, every candidate that wants our vote should show that they have drawn a clear line that separates them from China's United Front tactics, tactics that have corrupted countless government officials, elected political representatives, and prominent private citizens, who succumb to the power of the dollar (or hundred dollar) bill, albeit bills that are dripping with the blood of the casualties of this secret but brutal war.
Sam Cooper has courageously given us a sobering look into the dark world of evil and corruption. Until the Canadian government and law enforcement authorities have the will to fight this war, until we can say no to the dirty money of the Chinese Communist Party, we will never turn the tide in this war against drugs, money laundering, and Red China's attempt to infiltrate and strike at the very heart of the fabric of Canadian society.
With a Federal Election looming around the corner, every candidate that wants our vote should show that they have drawn a clear line that separates them from China's United Front tactics, tactics that have corrupted countless government officials, elected political representatives, and prominent private citizens, who succumb to the power of the dollar (or hundred dollar) bill, albeit bills that are dripping with the blood of the casualties of this secret but brutal war.
June 21, 2023
I was skeptical of this book, but I didn't expect it to be this bad. I think this is the first review I'm writing that is critiquing objectively poor writing. This book SERIOUSLY needs an editor. It jumps around so much and doesn't have much of a narrative. It feels like a massive 400 page news article that was poorly cobbled together. The author has so much material to work with, so it surprises me even more that there was no cohesive narrative to it. He isn't exactly short on info. Also, a copyeditor, especially one who understands Chinese could go a long way. He introduces people as if their name is "Pretty Boy" and such, but that is so obviously not their real names, it just makes the author look silly.
I also have issues with so many of his informants being RCMP. He needs to diversify his sources if this is to be a well rounded book. Right now, it just reads like a bunch of dude bros who get a hard on for fighting crime being low key racist. Generally, I also just don't trust policing as an institution. Read some abolitionist books if you don't agree.
Also, the amount of people who comment about how this explains the housing crisis in Vancouver are sorely misled. Yes, the money laundering is a symptom of our housing problem, and as a result, add a negative dent into our housing problem, but it is far from the root cause. The problem with housing is so much a government policy issue and lack of supply, and anyone who works in planning can tell you that. You can google the supply/demand deficit on your own if you're interested. There would be no money to launder via luxury housing if luxury housing just didn't exist in Vancouver.
Lastly, this is my gripe with the intro. The person who writes the intro tries to makes sure that they're being clear they're not trying to be racist, but the rhetoric that this isn't about the "hardworking Chinese Canadians" is a miss. Yes, I'm Chinese Canadian, but I don't think I have to be hardworking or good to be free from racist attacks towards me. I don't owe anyone my goodness as an exchange to being free from racism. There are also Chinese citizens and immigrants (including wealthy ones) who aren't Canadian, who don't operate in illegal affairs. I don't even think these problematic Chinese people deserve racism. They should definitely face repercussions and consequences for the illegal activity and drug trade, but that's not an excuse to be racist towards them.
Generally, the content of this book is interesting, but there's too much subtle associations that read to me as sinophobic that make me uncomfortable, especially when Vancouver already has such a bad sinophobia problem. But are we even surprised??
To clarify, I only picked this up because it was being featured EVERYWHERE in Vancouver bookstores. I couldn't get away from this book being shoved in my face everywhere I went. Anyways, I picked it up even though I hate reading books on China by white men.
I also have issues with so many of his informants being RCMP. He needs to diversify his sources if this is to be a well rounded book. Right now, it just reads like a bunch of dude bros who get a hard on for fighting crime being low key racist. Generally, I also just don't trust policing as an institution. Read some abolitionist books if you don't agree.
Also, the amount of people who comment about how this explains the housing crisis in Vancouver are sorely misled. Yes, the money laundering is a symptom of our housing problem, and as a result, add a negative dent into our housing problem, but it is far from the root cause. The problem with housing is so much a government policy issue and lack of supply, and anyone who works in planning can tell you that. You can google the supply/demand deficit on your own if you're interested. There would be no money to launder via luxury housing if luxury housing just didn't exist in Vancouver.
Lastly, this is my gripe with the intro. The person who writes the intro tries to makes sure that they're being clear they're not trying to be racist, but the rhetoric that this isn't about the "hardworking Chinese Canadians" is a miss. Yes, I'm Chinese Canadian, but I don't think I have to be hardworking or good to be free from racist attacks towards me. I don't owe anyone my goodness as an exchange to being free from racism. There are also Chinese citizens and immigrants (including wealthy ones) who aren't Canadian, who don't operate in illegal affairs. I don't even think these problematic Chinese people deserve racism. They should definitely face repercussions and consequences for the illegal activity and drug trade, but that's not an excuse to be racist towards them.
Generally, the content of this book is interesting, but there's too much subtle associations that read to me as sinophobic that make me uncomfortable, especially when Vancouver already has such a bad sinophobia problem. But are we even surprised??
To clarify, I only picked this up because it was being featured EVERYWHERE in Vancouver bookstores. I couldn't get away from this book being shoved in my face everywhere I went. Anyways, I picked it up even though I hate reading books on China by white men.
February 8, 2022
This book illustrates the adage shared by experienced editors: Good reporters are often not good writers. The skills needed for the jobs are different and few can master both.
Cooper has an important and shocking story to tell about how Canadian politicians, regulators and police have allowed Chinese criminals and the Chinese government to launder incredible amounts of cash through our casinos and real estate, driving up prices and flooding our streets with fentanyl.
Unfortunately, the story is tough to follow as the book woefully needs editing help on two fronts: First, it needs an editor who has read and understood this draft and can recommend how to restructure it into a cohesive whole that tells the story without wandering and repeating itself. Second, it needs a good copy editor who can cut out the cliches and grammatical errors.
This version should have been seen as a draft that a good editing team could have turned into an excellent book. Cooper is clearly an excellent reporter with good sources, let's hope he gets a good editor for his future efforts.
Cooper has an important and shocking story to tell about how Canadian politicians, regulators and police have allowed Chinese criminals and the Chinese government to launder incredible amounts of cash through our casinos and real estate, driving up prices and flooding our streets with fentanyl.
Unfortunately, the story is tough to follow as the book woefully needs editing help on two fronts: First, it needs an editor who has read and understood this draft and can recommend how to restructure it into a cohesive whole that tells the story without wandering and repeating itself. Second, it needs a good copy editor who can cut out the cliches and grammatical errors.
This version should have been seen as a draft that a good editing team could have turned into an excellent book. Cooper is clearly an excellent reporter with good sources, let's hope he gets a good editor for his future efforts.
January 29, 2022
Such interesting information it has my brain fried. I'll be pondering it for some time.
July 22, 2021
Sam Cooper's Wilfull Blindness has taken me from a complacent Canadian to one alarmed about corruption in Canada, especially BC and Ontario.
It should be read by every Canadian, especially our politicians.
That criminals linked to and supported by a state government could even set foot on Canadian soil, let alone prosper with seeming immunity from the laws that Canadians accept as protecting us boggles the mind. That the corruption that is the current government of China could ooze into our institutions and foul our politics is simply unacceptable. That our institutions could utterly fail Canadians through their wilful blindness is shocking.
Sam Cooper deserves our profound gratitude for exposing this stinking morass in the detailed, specific account he has written.
It should be read by every Canadian, especially our politicians.
That criminals linked to and supported by a state government could even set foot on Canadian soil, let alone prosper with seeming immunity from the laws that Canadians accept as protecting us boggles the mind. That the corruption that is the current government of China could ooze into our institutions and foul our politics is simply unacceptable. That our institutions could utterly fail Canadians through their wilful blindness is shocking.
Sam Cooper deserves our profound gratitude for exposing this stinking morass in the detailed, specific account he has written.
July 30, 2021
A deeply disturbing book about how Chinese organised criminal gangs have made Canada an international hub for drug trafficking, money laundering, and government corruption, aided by wilful blindness—or outright connivance--by Canadian government bureaucrats and elected officials. Journalist Sam Cooper further shows that the Chinese Communist Party actively supports this international criminal activity, which includes intimidating and assaulting Chinese-Canadian citizens.
Sam Cooper deserves every accolade available for his dogged pursuit of the truth, often in the face of government stonewalling and nuisance lawsuits. He argues that Canada needs to update its legal framework if it hopes effectively to counter CCP threats to our national security and sovereignty.
Sam Cooper deserves every accolade available for his dogged pursuit of the truth, often in the face of government stonewalling and nuisance lawsuits. He argues that Canada needs to update its legal framework if it hopes effectively to counter CCP threats to our national security and sovereignty.
June 17, 2021
It’s virtually official, Canada is a narco state! Brilliant journalism at its best. Although the book details the relationship between Hong Kong Triads, Macau and Vancouver casinos, Vancouver real estate, Canadian politicians and the CCP, it’s a story that is playing out across the world. Read this and be forewarned. The worst part is that our institutional and political failures for over 30 years let this happen.
June 20, 2021
Having finished Claws Of The Panda a while ago I had heard this was going to be published and couldnt wait.
This book is simply amazing and I really hope every Canadian reads this. I doubt that will happen but hopefully enough that they'll talk about it with others because the information here needs to be shared. So many things about Canada and what is currently going on makes so much sense now.
Very much recommend this book.
This book is simply amazing and I really hope every Canadian reads this. I doubt that will happen but hopefully enough that they'll talk about it with others because the information here needs to be shared. So many things about Canada and what is currently going on makes so much sense now.
Very much recommend this book.
September 23, 2021
If you live in Vancouver you need to read this book. For all my life I've watched this city change in ways that just don't make any logical sense. Sam Cooper has been thinking the same thing and digging up the reasons why.
I wish the book was better edited because it's difficult to follow the store and the web of connections. My hope is that a movie or documentary is made from this material.
I wish the book was better edited because it's difficult to follow the store and the web of connections. My hope is that a movie or documentary is made from this material.
September 8, 2022
An almost unbelievable read about foreign money infiltrating banks, real estate, and the upper echelons of Canada's political system. Easily 5 starts for the world-class investigative journalism by Sam Cooper, but I have to drop the rating for the writing and structure of the book. This could have easily have been a 5 star review, but I found the book hard to follow due to the fact that it jumps time periods and situations quite frequently -- there was a real opportunity here to tell a more coherent story, possibly in chronological order to maximize the engagement factor. As it stands, I found myself recognizing the amazing content and sourcing, but having to re-read sections or return to previous sections to refresh my memory on certain events.
December 22, 2023
The content in this book is fascinating and shocking. I really would have loved to give it 5 stars. However, the organization and writing of this book really could be improved. The author seems really passionate about this topic, which is great, but it seems like he dumped all evidence he knows about Chinese drug money laundering in Vancouver, which isn’t ideal for story telling. Overall, the actual content was very interesting and unfortunately had great potential to be written really well. If someone rewrote this book with a great editor and cut down 150 pages, I would give it 5 stars.
September 30, 2022
Canada the Corrupt: A Review of Sam Cooper’s Wilful Blindness
Canadians, I have often stated in my writings, live in the present as if in an illusory past. Canadian society has changed tremendously since the 1970s. Yet we still celebrate the victories of Vimy Ridge and Team Canada 1972 as if they were a product of the here and now.
They are not, of course. Vimy Ridge was won by roughnecks and pioneers, not humanities graduates and the perpetually aggrieved. Team Canada 1972 won by putting patriotism over paycheques, something I suspect many NHL players would think twice about today.
We’ve drifted from our moorings, is my main bullet point. Yet we still fetishize over our origin myth, casting ourselves as the fearless voyageur, the brave Mountie, the heroic Tommy.
And we consider our society, to this day, as a model for the world. When I was growing up, back when we said the Lord’s Prayer in school and sang God Save the Queen, our origin myth went something like this:
Canada was founded on the principles of Peace, Order, and Good Government. We could not be corrupted like those other, dago places, because, damnit, the Queen, etc, etc. Bully for us.
Our police could not be bribed. Our politicians would resign on a point of honour. Our peaceable kingdom was incorruptible.
Frankly, I don’t know if this was ever really true. It was, likely, truer in days past than now, I’d have to say, probably because less cash was on the table for the taking. But now, with billions in dirty money awash on our shores? Peace, order, good government?
How about BULLSHIT? That’s my inescapable conclusion after reading Sam Cooper’s seismic indictment of Canadian complacency, smugness, and blind self-satisfaction.
Canada, Cooper makes plain, is as corrupt now as any Latin American narco state. Perhaps more so.
Cooper is dogged and methodical, if not literary and poetic, in marshalling his awesome sources. Often top-level cops, politicians, journalists, and regulators, they tell the sad story of an almost forty-year slide into debauchery on the part of business, government, and a perpetually lazy media. The lure? Unchecked wealth from China, the source of which is often hazy.
When I was a CBSA officer, I often had a hard time wrapping my head around why so many Chinese nationals I encountered were so rich. They had no visible means of support. They spoke no English. They pled poverty when it came to employment. Yet, so much cash. If they were investors, they always, ALWAYS, invested in exactly one firm: a firm in Jean Chretien’s riding in Shawinigan. QC. In later years, I asked some of these “Investor Class” immigrants, how things had gone. Had they managed to start a business? That is, after all, what “investors” do, right? Had they hired any Canadians?
“No. Too hard.” This was the eternal, unchanging answer. Never, not in seventeen years as a CBSA officer, did I meet a single “investor” who’d invested in anything but the Liberal Party of Canada.
So, what was with all the money?
Cooper makes a supremely convincing case that the money is almost entirely the laundered profits of corruption in China, and, more ominously, the sale of fentanyl in Canada and the US. This filthy business utilizes the casino system, as well as the ludicrously overheated real estate market. Cooper draws convincing links between corrupt Canadian businessmen and politicians, curiously supine policemen, and a network of Triad gangsters operating with the full knowledge and support of the Communist Party of China.
I mean, think about it? This is a country that can shut down access to the outside world with the flick of a switch. They can’t stop containers full of deadly drugs crossing the ocean? Why would they? They’re making too much money. And we’re letting them.
I’ll be frank: I was seriously depressed after reading this book. Perhaps the lowest and most cynical moment for me was when a former Mountie and Coroner, reborn as a celebrated “Harm Reduction” advocate (Give ‘em the drugs for free, at least they won’t die) stands exposed as a shill for Communist Chinese money laundering. And the fentanyl keeps killing his people.
Canada is corrupt. That’s the main take away I had from Sam Cooper’s book. And most of the people in power seem to be just fine with that. The unchecked money-laundering in our real-estate markets makes home ownership a fable for all but the highest earners, but who really gives a damn?
Really, really, bad news? It’s not just China. Iran, the Mexican and Columbian cartels…a whole host of bad actors have noticed that Canada is bent over with her pants down, and now, now, thousands of miles from the nearest coca plant or opium poppy, we’re actually a drug exporting nation.
Our allies no longer trust us. We’ve become a laughing stock.
One reason I left the CBSA was the nagging feeling that, no matter what I did, the deck was stacked against me, by more powerful and less principled people. Sam Cooper explains why I was right.
Read Sam Cooper’s book, if only to understood why, and how, your country died.
Canadians, I have often stated in my writings, live in the present as if in an illusory past. Canadian society has changed tremendously since the 1970s. Yet we still celebrate the victories of Vimy Ridge and Team Canada 1972 as if they were a product of the here and now.
They are not, of course. Vimy Ridge was won by roughnecks and pioneers, not humanities graduates and the perpetually aggrieved. Team Canada 1972 won by putting patriotism over paycheques, something I suspect many NHL players would think twice about today.
We’ve drifted from our moorings, is my main bullet point. Yet we still fetishize over our origin myth, casting ourselves as the fearless voyageur, the brave Mountie, the heroic Tommy.
And we consider our society, to this day, as a model for the world. When I was growing up, back when we said the Lord’s Prayer in school and sang God Save the Queen, our origin myth went something like this:
Canada was founded on the principles of Peace, Order, and Good Government. We could not be corrupted like those other, dago places, because, damnit, the Queen, etc, etc. Bully for us.
Our police could not be bribed. Our politicians would resign on a point of honour. Our peaceable kingdom was incorruptible.
Frankly, I don’t know if this was ever really true. It was, likely, truer in days past than now, I’d have to say, probably because less cash was on the table for the taking. But now, with billions in dirty money awash on our shores? Peace, order, good government?
How about BULLSHIT? That’s my inescapable conclusion after reading Sam Cooper’s seismic indictment of Canadian complacency, smugness, and blind self-satisfaction.
Canada, Cooper makes plain, is as corrupt now as any Latin American narco state. Perhaps more so.
Cooper is dogged and methodical, if not literary and poetic, in marshalling his awesome sources. Often top-level cops, politicians, journalists, and regulators, they tell the sad story of an almost forty-year slide into debauchery on the part of business, government, and a perpetually lazy media. The lure? Unchecked wealth from China, the source of which is often hazy.
When I was a CBSA officer, I often had a hard time wrapping my head around why so many Chinese nationals I encountered were so rich. They had no visible means of support. They spoke no English. They pled poverty when it came to employment. Yet, so much cash. If they were investors, they always, ALWAYS, invested in exactly one firm: a firm in Jean Chretien’s riding in Shawinigan. QC. In later years, I asked some of these “Investor Class” immigrants, how things had gone. Had they managed to start a business? That is, after all, what “investors” do, right? Had they hired any Canadians?
“No. Too hard.” This was the eternal, unchanging answer. Never, not in seventeen years as a CBSA officer, did I meet a single “investor” who’d invested in anything but the Liberal Party of Canada.
So, what was with all the money?
Cooper makes a supremely convincing case that the money is almost entirely the laundered profits of corruption in China, and, more ominously, the sale of fentanyl in Canada and the US. This filthy business utilizes the casino system, as well as the ludicrously overheated real estate market. Cooper draws convincing links between corrupt Canadian businessmen and politicians, curiously supine policemen, and a network of Triad gangsters operating with the full knowledge and support of the Communist Party of China.
I mean, think about it? This is a country that can shut down access to the outside world with the flick of a switch. They can’t stop containers full of deadly drugs crossing the ocean? Why would they? They’re making too much money. And we’re letting them.
I’ll be frank: I was seriously depressed after reading this book. Perhaps the lowest and most cynical moment for me was when a former Mountie and Coroner, reborn as a celebrated “Harm Reduction” advocate (Give ‘em the drugs for free, at least they won’t die) stands exposed as a shill for Communist Chinese money laundering. And the fentanyl keeps killing his people.
Canada is corrupt. That’s the main take away I had from Sam Cooper’s book. And most of the people in power seem to be just fine with that. The unchecked money-laundering in our real-estate markets makes home ownership a fable for all but the highest earners, but who really gives a damn?
Really, really, bad news? It’s not just China. Iran, the Mexican and Columbian cartels…a whole host of bad actors have noticed that Canada is bent over with her pants down, and now, now, thousands of miles from the nearest coca plant or opium poppy, we’re actually a drug exporting nation.
Our allies no longer trust us. We’ve become a laughing stock.
One reason I left the CBSA was the nagging feeling that, no matter what I did, the deck was stacked against me, by more powerful and less principled people. Sam Cooper explains why I was right.
Read Sam Cooper’s book, if only to understood why, and how, your country died.
August 16, 2022
The book offers an insight into Canadian investigative journalism looking into sprawling money laundering and criminal networks, interconnections between criminal and (foreign) political influence on the Canadian economy and politics, ineffectiveness of the Canadian investigative and regulatory bodies, and willful blindness and often complicity of the political classes.
On the negative side, the organization and arguments and even sentence structure are atrocious, probably the worst I have ever seen. It boggles the mind that this is the second edition of a book by an experienced journalist, the lack of copy editing notwithstanding. Going through 300+ pages of this required herculean patience and effort.
On the negative side, the organization and arguments and even sentence structure are atrocious, probably the worst I have ever seen. It boggles the mind that this is the second edition of a book by an experienced journalist, the lack of copy editing notwithstanding. Going through 300+ pages of this required herculean patience and effort.
October 22, 2021
“Money-laundering is a product of their crime, just like dead kids and corrupt politicians.” Calvin Chrustie, retired RCMP, 2019.
This book appeared just before the results are released from the public inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia: https://tinyurl.com/z4nud2fp.
This is a truly shocking story, with information gleaned from the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, BC Lottery Corporation, RCMP officers, Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and others.
Cooper argues that deals were struck between the Chinese Communist Party and the Triads, which allowed the Triads to operate unimpeded if they agreed to not interfere with the transition of Hong Kong to Mainland China. The connections between the CCP and Canadian gangsters continue to this day.
Then, weakness and loopholes in procedures for applying for refugee status in Canada (particularly allowing people in without documentation) created opportunities for Triad members to flood Canada in the 1980s and 1990s.
Now, Chinese drug dealers ship drugs to Vancouver. A marked loosening of regulations for the Port of Vancouver under Jean Chretien and the BC government is alleged to have eased the entry of these drugs. Gangsters across Canada sell the drugs. The money is shipped to an office tower in Richmond, where a criminal bank, Silver International, is operated by Paul King Jin (among other illegal banks).
Jin flies to Macau and Hong Kong to recruit whale gamblers, who contact Silver International in Vancouver via WeChat to place orders for cash. The whales pick the cash up in strip mall parking lots and go to the River Rock Casino and launder the money by making casino chip purchases, which all levels of government have largely turned a blind eye to.
Then the money is returned to Jin who uses some of it to buy real estate (many homes being used as underground casinos) and some to purchase more drugs in China, and so on.
Cooper certainly names names including former BC Solicitor General Rich Coleman, former BC Finance Minister Mike De Jong, former BC Premiers Glen Clark and Christy Clark, local MLAs, MPs, city councilors, Prime Minister Jean Chretien, etc. Networks of lawyers, (legal and illegal) bankers, and real estate agents are involved. Far more detail is given in the book.
This book appeared just before the results are released from the public inquiry into money laundering in British Columbia: https://tinyurl.com/z4nud2fp.
This is a truly shocking story, with information gleaned from the Gaming Policy and Enforcement Branch, BC Lottery Corporation, RCMP officers, Canada Revenue Agency, the Canadian Border Services Agency, and others.
Cooper argues that deals were struck between the Chinese Communist Party and the Triads, which allowed the Triads to operate unimpeded if they agreed to not interfere with the transition of Hong Kong to Mainland China. The connections between the CCP and Canadian gangsters continue to this day.
Then, weakness and loopholes in procedures for applying for refugee status in Canada (particularly allowing people in without documentation) created opportunities for Triad members to flood Canada in the 1980s and 1990s.
Now, Chinese drug dealers ship drugs to Vancouver. A marked loosening of regulations for the Port of Vancouver under Jean Chretien and the BC government is alleged to have eased the entry of these drugs. Gangsters across Canada sell the drugs. The money is shipped to an office tower in Richmond, where a criminal bank, Silver International, is operated by Paul King Jin (among other illegal banks).
Jin flies to Macau and Hong Kong to recruit whale gamblers, who contact Silver International in Vancouver via WeChat to place orders for cash. The whales pick the cash up in strip mall parking lots and go to the River Rock Casino and launder the money by making casino chip purchases, which all levels of government have largely turned a blind eye to.
Then the money is returned to Jin who uses some of it to buy real estate (many homes being used as underground casinos) and some to purchase more drugs in China, and so on.
Cooper certainly names names including former BC Solicitor General Rich Coleman, former BC Finance Minister Mike De Jong, former BC Premiers Glen Clark and Christy Clark, local MLAs, MPs, city councilors, Prime Minister Jean Chretien, etc. Networks of lawyers, (legal and illegal) bankers, and real estate agents are involved. Far more detail is given in the book.
July 23, 2021
All voters should read this book and open their eyes. “Wilful Blindness” is another of the warning sirens trying to alert Canadians about the attack on our civilization.
The election is coming. At what point does organized crime become political? Canada has become seriously compromised with power mongers who want to loot our country. The CCP claims to be on track to world hegemony in ten years. Destroying our country in this latest Opium War would be a major win for them.
How this story ends depends on what YOU are going to do. Do you believe in democracy or do you believe in the supremacy of evil? Read the book before you answer.
The election is coming. At what point does organized crime become political? Canada has become seriously compromised with power mongers who want to loot our country. The CCP claims to be on track to world hegemony in ten years. Destroying our country in this latest Opium War would be a major win for them.
How this story ends depends on what YOU are going to do. Do you believe in democracy or do you believe in the supremacy of evil? Read the book before you answer.
April 21, 2022
There's an interesting book within this - namely the widespread exploitation of Vancouver casinos by Asian organized crime groups - but I think I may have picked up a different book than everyone else here.
Where to begin... this book suffers from a severe lack of citations. For example, Cooper states -- without citation -- that "[Chinese underground banking networks] were moving almost all of the cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl proceeds on the west coast of North America" in 2011/2012. Where does this claim come from? Interesting to lump fentanyl in there as well given that it didn't really explode in opioid supply until a few years later. This is but one example of many.
Cooper also tends to make some seemingly huge logical jumps for the purpose of snappy conclusions. For one example:
"On June 30, at 11:05pm in Vancouver, Tong Sang Lai called a "Mr. Kwok" in Mainland China.
"Kwok appears to be the mediator between the two Triads," Forgarty wrote in his Project Fallout report. "Lai is very respectful towards Kwok. Lai has ordered his men not to take any action until after July 10." In Fogarty's mind, Mr. Kwok was obviously a person of immense influence. It was something that citizens in the US and Canada just couldn't grasp. China's government was directing the gangs."
It seems like a jump to say, without citation, that an influential person between gangs must be "China's government."
This one is relatively minor, but the decision not to include a glossary, or even initially define acronyms, is really odd. They're just dropped in the text as if it's obvious who GBEP is. Another example: CSIS -- as an American, I know CSIS as a think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. After realizing this made no sense in context of the book, I did my own checking and decided it more likely referred to the Canadian Security Intelligence Services.
Really not a book I would recommend to anyone.
Where to begin... this book suffers from a severe lack of citations. For example, Cooper states -- without citation -- that "[Chinese underground banking networks] were moving almost all of the cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and fentanyl proceeds on the west coast of North America" in 2011/2012. Where does this claim come from? Interesting to lump fentanyl in there as well given that it didn't really explode in opioid supply until a few years later. This is but one example of many.
Cooper also tends to make some seemingly huge logical jumps for the purpose of snappy conclusions. For one example:
"On June 30, at 11:05pm in Vancouver, Tong Sang Lai called a "Mr. Kwok" in Mainland China.
"Kwok appears to be the mediator between the two Triads," Forgarty wrote in his Project Fallout report. "Lai is very respectful towards Kwok. Lai has ordered his men not to take any action until after July 10." In Fogarty's mind, Mr. Kwok was obviously a person of immense influence. It was something that citizens in the US and Canada just couldn't grasp. China's government was directing the gangs."
It seems like a jump to say, without citation, that an influential person between gangs must be "China's government."
This one is relatively minor, but the decision not to include a glossary, or even initially define acronyms, is really odd. They're just dropped in the text as if it's obvious who GBEP is. Another example: CSIS -- as an American, I know CSIS as a think tank, the Center for Strategic and International Studies. After realizing this made no sense in context of the book, I did my own checking and decided it more likely referred to the Canadian Security Intelligence Services.
Really not a book I would recommend to anyone.
June 29, 2022
An incredible and detailed read outlining the compromised state of Canadian institutions. Sam Cooper brings receipts and his lectures, frequently attended by CSIS agents, has helped highlight the breadth of the CCP's operations here all whilst bureaucrats, private enterprises and politicians from all parties have looked the other way.
February 20, 2025
A must read book of unbelievable facts and truths on what is and isn’t happening in Canada politics and foreign actor - incredibly well researched and written
July 1, 2025
Detailed and solid journalism. Every Canadian needs to read this book.
April 2, 2023
Oh where to start?!
I find this book very disappointing.
Firstly it had no flow. Felt very broken down and was impossibly hard to get through..
We have a lot of names, a lot of numbers, but not the information we actually want/need. Too many significant details are missing and too much irrelevant information added.
However my main issue is that the author didn't seem to do his research. He's talking about laundering money through casinos, but he's constantly referring to refining. There was such a great potential to build a good narrative as laundering money through casinos can be quite intricate, but the author never bothered to tell us about the mechanisms. But rather so and so came to a casino and changed so much.
It almost feels like the author doesn't understand the AML topic himself.
I don't see how it is possible to enjoy this read from any perspective. It felt to me like Sam just got a bunch of papers and decided to publish them without any proper editing.
Could've been an amazingly written story, but came out as very poor;y edited book with typos etc.
I find this book very disappointing.
Firstly it had no flow. Felt very broken down and was impossibly hard to get through..
We have a lot of names, a lot of numbers, but not the information we actually want/need. Too many significant details are missing and too much irrelevant information added.
However my main issue is that the author didn't seem to do his research. He's talking about laundering money through casinos, but he's constantly referring to refining. There was such a great potential to build a good narrative as laundering money through casinos can be quite intricate, but the author never bothered to tell us about the mechanisms. But rather so and so came to a casino and changed so much.
It almost feels like the author doesn't understand the AML topic himself.
I don't see how it is possible to enjoy this read from any perspective. It felt to me like Sam just got a bunch of papers and decided to publish them without any proper editing.
Could've been an amazingly written story, but came out as very poor;y edited book with typos etc.
March 17, 2022
The most disturbing thing I have read, and possibly the most important.
It smashes my blissful feeling that Canada is in some way safe, and physically isolated from factions who wish to impose corrupt and authoritarian rule over the world.
While much of the evidence is circumstantial and correlational in isolation, the sheer abundance and inter-connectivity of it all is damning. If even a fraction of it is true, it points to systemic corruption and/or incompetence among a non-trivial set of Canadian politicians, government officials, lawmakers, law enforcement, and other institutions.
10 stars for the reporting and the content, 1 star for the writing style.
It would benefit from a big reorganization to make it less like a list of bullet points, and more like a flowing narrative. And it needs graphs and other infographics!
It smashes my blissful feeling that Canada is in some way safe, and physically isolated from factions who wish to impose corrupt and authoritarian rule over the world.
While much of the evidence is circumstantial and correlational in isolation, the sheer abundance and inter-connectivity of it all is damning. If even a fraction of it is true, it points to systemic corruption and/or incompetence among a non-trivial set of Canadian politicians, government officials, lawmakers, law enforcement, and other institutions.
10 stars for the reporting and the content, 1 star for the writing style.
It would benefit from a big reorganization to make it less like a list of bullet points, and more like a flowing narrative. And it needs graphs and other infographics!
June 26, 2021
Loses a full star due to the abundance of copy errors. Was this rushed to press? My hope is that corrections are being applied as I type.
That said, the quality of journalism is astounding. The revelations, shocking. This is essential reading for anyone and everyone in BC and across Canada. Even people outside the border may find this illuminating from the perspective of a corruption yarn that seems to put China as the fentanyl-pushing agency hellbent to hobble Canada, politically. You will be enraged, wowed, stunned, and enraged again in page after rage-inducing page.
It is a Hell of a read.
That said, the quality of journalism is astounding. The revelations, shocking. This is essential reading for anyone and everyone in BC and across Canada. Even people outside the border may find this illuminating from the perspective of a corruption yarn that seems to put China as the fentanyl-pushing agency hellbent to hobble Canada, politically. You will be enraged, wowed, stunned, and enraged again in page after rage-inducing page.
It is a Hell of a read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 15, 2022
This book drops so many bombshells about Canadian corruption that it is hard to wrap your head around it all. It kicks down the doors on the connections between Hong Kong Triads, Vancouver casinos, the housing crisis, the opioid crisis, and the Chinese Communist Party. Cliffs Notes: Chinese gangs who are connected to the CCP and make Pablo Escobar look like small potatoes are laundering obscene amounts of drug money through Vancouver casinos and real estate and all levels of government are turning a blind eye. It is head-spinningly & infuriatingly bonkers. A must read if you live in BC.
March 7, 2022
CCP infiltration in Canada is certainly a crucial issue, but this book makes more claims than it can back up. Not everything in China begins and ends with "dragon", and while there are many words to describe Hong Kong's culture, "ancient" probably ain't it. Being a member of the Jockey Club is a signifier of social status, not of involvement in money laundering.
November 6, 2021
Fascinating book full of things that every Canadian might not have believed ... but might be opening their eyes to.
Chinese gangs have infiltrated Canada (specifically BC and their casinos and their lottery corporation) and Chinese gangs have done so with little to no resistance from the Canadian and Provincial governments. In fact, dare I say, BC governments are a "tool for global criminals", bringing more and more deadly drugs to our shores, spreading out across the country from there, and laundering billions of dollars into Vancouver real estate.
The downfall is the erratic pattern telling the story and copy errors, spelling errors, grammar errors, etc... that shit makes me mad as this book deserves better.
I truly hope it is being edited for a new edition as I type this.
Chinese gangs have infiltrated Canada (specifically BC and their casinos and their lottery corporation) and Chinese gangs have done so with little to no resistance from the Canadian and Provincial governments. In fact, dare I say, BC governments are a "tool for global criminals", bringing more and more deadly drugs to our shores, spreading out across the country from there, and laundering billions of dollars into Vancouver real estate.
The downfall is the erratic pattern telling the story and copy errors, spelling errors, grammar errors, etc... that shit makes me mad as this book deserves better.
I truly hope it is being edited for a new edition as I type this.
August 31, 2021
This book is a riveting and dizzying expose on the network of trans-national organized crime exploiting Canada’s weak laws & systems. Anyone distraught over the housing crisis and ongoing opioid death tragedy must read this book for crucial context. This is THE #bcpoli and #cdnpoli book to read, especially now in election season. Meticulously researched by Sam Cooper, who took a deep, deep dive complex narrative and made it entirely readable and engaging. Best part is we’ll be able to access his follow ups in the news!
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