A retired RCMP officer charged with serving to China conduct international interference requested a Quebec courtroom decide on Monday to quash an indictment in opposition to him as a result of it was filed within the unsuitable province.
Legal professionals for William Majcher argued in a courtroom in Longueuil, Que., on Montreal’s South Shore, that the fees ought to have been filed in British Columbia or Ontario.
“These are two place in Canada the place the offences are alleged to have been dedicated,” stated Louis Belleau, a Montreal-based lawyer representing Majcher, who attended Monday’s listening to by video convention.
“Nothing connects the case to Longueuil.”
If the appliance is granted to quash, it will put an finish to the Quebec proceedings.
Majcher, 61, is charged beneath the Safety of Info Act with conspiracy and with committing preparatory acts for the advantage of a international entity. Authorities allege Majcher, a resident of Hong Kong, used his community of Canadian contacts to acquire intelligence or companies that benefited the Individuals’s Republic of China. His cost sheet says he dedicated the crimes in Vancouver, Toronto, Hong Kong, and different unnamed locations in Canada, China and “elsewhere on the planet.”
His legal professionals say a prosecution should be initiated in a jurisdiction with particular connection to the crime, the offence or the offender.
“Clearly, we’re not looking for a keep of proceedings or another kind of order that may put an finish to the prosecution of Mr. Majcher,” Belleau stated.
“The Crown will stay free to put a cost the place we consider the cost ought to have been laid within the first place.”
Belleau instructed the courtroom the defence requested the Crown to remain the Quebec case and cost Majcher in B.C., however he stated prosecutors denied that request.
For its half, the Crown says a decide from any jurisdiction in Canada can hear circumstances involving the Safety of Info Act.
Majcher was employed by the RCMP from 1985 till 2007. He later labored in funding banking in Hong Kong at EMIDR Restricted, an organization he co-founded, offering experience on cash laundering and monetary crime threat.
The Quebec department of the RCMP’s Built-in Nationwide Safety Enforcement Crew started investigating Majcher within the fall of 2021, and federal prosecutors primarily based within the province mounted the authorized case in opposition to him.
“Our pretension is that the Safety of Info Act provides territorial jurisdiction to Quebec judges to all of Canada, similar to it provides Ontario judges jurisdiction throughout Canada or it provides British Columbia judges jurisdiction throughout Canada,” prosecutor Philippe Legault instructed reporters Monday outdoors the courtroom.
Majcher was arrested in Vancouver in July 2023 and appeared earlier than a decide in Longueuil, who granted him bail. He has not but entered a plea, however his lawyer has instructed the courtroom his consumer intends to plead not responsible to each costs.
In an interview with CTV Information final month, Majcher instructed the community he’s a “patriot” and never a “traitor” and was able to problem the fees.
Quebec courtroom Decide Sacha Blais will rule on Majcher’s request subsequent month, forward of scheduled trial dates in October.
© 2024 The Canadian Press
