VICTORIA - B.C.'s Civil Forfeiture Office (CFO) seeks to forfeit the tools and proceeds of unlawful activity through the civil-court process and return forfeited funds to B.C. communities directly impacted by crime.

There has been commentary questioning the fairness of the civil forfeiture process. Not only has the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the constitutionality of the law in Canada, but there are also significant checks and balances in place to ensure fairness, including oversight from the courts on all settlements and decisions.

As with any program, government, as a regular practice, also works to make sure there are no unintended consequences. This work is constantly ongoing.

Targeting ill-gotten gains:

The CFO has been very successful in targeting property that has clearly benefited the public by having it forfeited. For example:

• The CFO forfeited an armoured Suburban vehicle operated by a major organized crime figure. This person was later targeted for assassination in a gangland ambush outside a Kelowna casino in which one person was killed and a girl paralyzed. This person was also arrested in a high-profile drug bust in the Philippines.
• The CFO forfeited approximately $225,000 from a criminal group in the Lower Mainland involved in manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine and other hard drugs.

• The CFO forfeited approximately $1.8 million in cash and properties from an international drug trafficker who was arrested in a sting operation trying to buy 50 kilograms of cocaine for importation into B.C.

The CFO also works to improve safety for local communities and help victims of crime:

• The CFO forfeited a problem house in a family neighbourhood in Victoria that police visited 206 times in eight years, including raids by tactical teams that turned up weapons and drugs. The CFO met with the neighbours and took affidavits from them about how their lives had been negatively impacted. The CFO then negotiated a settlement with the owner that was designed to facilitate the removal of the problem from the neighbourhood as quickly as possible.
• Working with the BC Securities Commission, the CFO compensated 37 Canadians with the full amount of $190,121 they lost to a Ponzi scheme in 2003; and almost $1 million to nearly 50 people involved in the fraud perpetrated by William Chan and his group of companies.

Supporting victims and crime prevention programs:

The B.C. government put the CFO in place to help ensure crime does not pay, and to continue to support victims of crime, communities and crime prevention programs across the province.

• Since B.C.'s civil forfeiture program became active in 2006 it has returned approximately $21 million from successful forfeiture actions to crime prevention programs and victim compensation, including $1.3 million for victims of fraud.
• This year, the Province announced $5 million in civil forfeiture proceeds for anti-violence and crime prevention initiatives throughout B.C., with a focus on those that address violence against women.
• As of May 6, 2015, the CFO has acted on more than 2,330 out of 2,820 voluntary referrals from police agencies. Nearly three quarters of these cases have concluded, almost all on terms the office sought.
• In January and July 2014, the Province provided a forfeited 2009 BMW X5 Sport Utility vehicle to the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit - British Columbia (CFSEU-BC) and a forfeited 350Z sports car to the Kelowna RCMP to educate youth about the dangers of gang life. 

Contact:

Ministry of Justice
Government Communications and Public Engagement
250 213-3602