British Columbia’s director of civil forfeiture is suing to keep $880,000 [US$646,000] paid as a bond to the Canada Border Services Agency by a man accused of being the multimillionaire leader of a criminal gang running casinos in Macao.

According to a notice of civil claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court Tuesday, Tujie Lai’s spouse paid the money to the CBSA in October 2019 after Lai was handed over to Canadian authorities by the U.S. Border Patrol, which claimed he had crossed the border illegally.

The court documents claim the CBSA subsequently learned Lai — who purports to be self-employed — was wanted in China for crimes including kidnapping, extortion, and leading a criminal gang.

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