Two men who were charged with gang-related money laundering at a Langley currency exchange plan to plead guilty to multiple criminal counts.
Lawyers for Robinderpal Singh Rathor, 33, and Taranjit Singh Rathor, 24, have filed notice of their intention to plead guilty with the Surrey Provincial Court registry.
Court records show the older man intends to plead guilty to five counts of laundering proceeds of crime and one count of conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.
The younger man intends to plead guilty to three counts of laundering and one of conspiracy.
Their next court appearance is set for September.
The pair were charged following a dramatic takedown of two currency exchanges on May 26, 2008, one at Global Tourist Centre (GTC) at 20505 Fraser Highway, the other at Capital Forex, 5560 204 St.
Several heavily armed and uniformed RCMP officers pushed their way into the Forex office opposite Langley City Hall, while another group stormed the rear entrance of GTC in a small mall fronting Fraser Highway.
Over the next hour, four men were brought out, their faces covered with a jacket or blanket, and placed in the back of a marked police car.
Shortly after the raids, a police spokesman said that the operation “has to do with money laundering which we are alleging is linked to organized crime.”
In some cases, individual transactions amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars, the spokesman said.
Money laundering is the practice of making financial transactions specifically to conceal the source or destination of money derived by illegal means.
The investigation began in 2007 after police received a tip that led them to the Langley exchanges.
“These two currency exchanges were operated by two men who were allegedly laundering the proceeds of crime through these businesses,” the RCMP said in a statement released following the raid.
Undercover RCMP officers laundered $21,300 in Canadian currency, and more than $550,000 in U.S. funds, the RCMP allege.
Langley City Hall records show a “Robin Rathor” owned both businesses.
— with files from Natasha Jones