British Columbia's Public Safety Minister Nina Krieger expressed satisfaction with the B.C. Supreme Court's recent decision to issue Canada's first unexplained wealth order. This order targets Jianxin Huang and Xiao Zhen Jean Li, who are accused of illegal cannabis cultivation. The court ruling, released on Thursday, outlines a civil forfeiture action involving three properties and nearly $1.5 million in cash linked to their alleged illicit activities and failure to report taxable income.

The case began when Vancouver police responded to reports of gunfire at a property on East 28th Avenue in September 2023. Following a trail of blood, officers discovered a person nearby suffering from multiple gunshot wounds, who later died. A subsequent search of Li's property on Victoria Drive revealed nearly $1.5 million in cash, over 75 kilograms of cannabis, and applications for Canada Child Benefit and B.C. Family Benefits in Li's name, which falsely claimed an annual income of less than $1,000.

According to the ruling, both Huang and Li have reported minimal taxable income for nearly 20 years. Despite this, Li purchased the Victoria Drive home in 2005 for $588,000, acquired another property with Huang in 2013 for $705,000 in cash, and bought a property in Abbotsford in 2020 for $1.7 million.

Krieger stated that unexplained wealth orders require individuals to provide evidence of how they obtained their assets. "They must prove that their luxury property, cars, or cash were obtained legally, or risk losing them," she said. The court ruling also noted that Huang and Li were subjects of multiple suspicious transaction reports submitted to Canada's anti-money laundering agency, Fintrac, from four different banks between 2017 and 2023.