Man convicted of murdering accused B.C. money launderer sentenced to life in prison

A man has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 25 years for the first-degree murder of a B.C. man alleged to have been at the centre of an international money-laundering operation.

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Alan Ross also handed Richard Charles Reed a six-year prison sentence for intentional discharge of a prohibited weapon and a four-year sentence for possession of a prohibited weapon, which the 26-year-old will serve at the same time as the life sentence.

"It is clear that you have a long road ahead of you. I encourage you to access the programs that are available to you inside the institutions where you will be serving your sentences," the judge told Reed.

Reed was found guilty of shooting Jian Jun Zhu at a Japanese restaurant in Richmond, B.C., in 2020.

Zhu, 44, was accused in a high-profile laundering case that collapsed in dramatic fashion in 2018.

7 gunshots 

Court heard that Reed fired seven shots into the busy restaurant through a large glass window. The first shot went into the back of Zhu's head, and the rest were fired randomly to get rid of the remaining bullets, according to the court decision.

Reed "planned and deliberated on the murder," having spent 20 minutes surveying the restaurant, according to the judge. Zhu's associate, Paul King Pao Jin, was also injured during the shooting.

Reed's defence lawyer submitted a presentence report about his past. Reed has a lengthy criminal record that began when he was 18. He was convicted for four assaults, sexual interference with a minor, a robbery and 18 breaches of court orders.

He was on probation at the time of Zhu's killing.

The judge heard that Reed had a difficult upbringing and faced abuse that placed him in foster care. 

Money laundering allegations

Both Zhu and Jin were key figures in the RCMP's failed E-Pirate investigation into money laundering.

Documents related to E-Pirate alleged that Zhu ran an underground bank that laundered more than $200 million per year.

All charges against Zhu, who denied any wrongdoing, were eventually stayed in November 2018.

Federal prosecutors have refused to provide the reason but court recordings and documents detailed months-long delays sparked by the realization the Crown had mistakenly disclosed privileged information.

The names of both Zhu and Jin arose repeatedly at B.C. Supreme Court Justice Austin Cullen's commission into money laundering, which was established in May 2019 to examine the alleged flow of billions of dollars worth of dirty money through the province's casinos, real estate market, luxury car sales and the drug trade.

Jin was granted standing at the inquiry after Cullen noted that his name had emerged in testimony suggesting he "has been engaged in money laundering and loan sharking relating to activities at British Columbia casinos."

On the final day of the hearing in October, Jin's lawyer noted that his client was investigated — but never charged — as part of E-Pirate. He told Cullen there clearly wasn't enough evidence to prosecute.