Cryptocurrency, e-wallets, money transfers: The new age of B.C. organized crime financials

globalnews.ca:

This article is part of a Global BC series focused on the B.C. gang conflict.

Organized crime and its vast underground wealth isn’t breaking news for British Columbians. However, much like any other field of work, it has evolved and grown to incorporate new tech.

Much to the chagrin of law enforcement, organized crime in B.C. has implemented new systems to hide, use and transfer money that’s been illegally obtained through criminal activities.

This includes the use of cryptocurrency, e-wallets and video-game money trading plus cryptomarkets on the dark web.

One expert on B.C. gangs, Hilary Morden, shared her knowledge with Global News regarding this vast topic.

Morden interviewed more than 100 active gang members in 2016 and 2017 for her research at Simon Fraser University, where she was a criminology, forensic and psychology professor.

“Over a two-year period, I got maybe one or two interviews a week. Then at my peak, I was doing about two or three a day,” Morden told Global News.

“(They) want to unburden their souls; that’s why (I think) they talk to me. I am a good listener and I don’t judge. It is cathartic, and who doesn’t want to talk about their life story, right?”

She was able to access them through a single source. She said once she interviewed one active gang member, others were made available as she gained their trust.

Morden says she’s interviewed gang members on every level, from street dealers to multi-millionaires who have been in the “game” for decades.

According to Morden, top-level B.C. gang members make “stupid, silly money. Millions upon millions.”

Those near the top make tens of millions and buy whatever they want, whenever they want — sometimes purchasing many houses and properties around the