A retired officer with Canada’s national police force was charged Friday with foreign interference after spying for the Chinese government and targeting an individual on behalf of the government. speak.
William Majcher, 60, the retired officer, “is believed to have used his knowledge and extensive network of contacts in Canada to gather intelligence or services to benefit” Beijing, authorities said in a statement. The case could intensify calls for a public investigation into alleged Chinese government meddling in Canadian affairs.
Mr. Majcher, who used to live in Hong Kong and was arrested Thursday night in Vancouver after voluntarily returning to Canada, also supported “the Chinese government’s attempt to identify and intimidate an individual outside of the scope of Canadian law,” according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP.
The arrest, following a two-year investigation into what the RCMP describes as Mr Majcher’s “suspicious activities”, comes as the issue of China’s interference in the Canadian election has shaken political circles for months. Chinese diplomats and agents in Canada are said to have tried undermine elected officials criticized China’s human rights record, especially in the districts with large Chinese voters in Vancouver and Toronto.
The Canadian government recently expelled a Chinese diplomat it accused of conspiring to intimidate a Toronto-area opposition lawmaker who has spearheaded efforts in Congress to label China’s treatment of the Muslim Uighur community is a crime of genocide. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been criticized by opposition parties for being soft on China, has rejected calls for a public investigation into China’s activities in Canada. Chinese officials have denied any interference.
Inspector David Beaudoin, who heads the Majcher investigation unit in Montreal, said none of the suspect’s activities “appear to be related in any way to interfering in Canadian politics.”
Mr. Majcher, in his words LinkedIn page, chairman of EMIDR, a Hong Kong-based corporate risk management firm.
Sgt. Camille Habel, a spokesman for the RCMP, said that the Chinese government was “one of the company’s major customers”, which specializes in “investigating cross-border financial crimes and recovering assets”.
Inspector Beaudoin said that investigators had so far identified a single individual Mr. Majcher had helped target, but added that the investigation was still ongoing. He added that authorities “do not rule out the possibility of arresting and charging more individuals in the coming weeks.”
Majcher worked at the RCMP from 1985 to 2007, specializing in federal drug and financial crime investigations until the end of his career, said Sergeant Habel.
Dennis MolinaroA former Canadian government national security analyst who now teaches legal studies at the Ontario University of Technology, said that someone with a background like Mr. Majcher would have useful information for the Chinese government.
“He will have useful information on how investigations are conducted and the methods used,” said Molinaro. “Someone involved in that field will also have useful contacts that he has access to, and those contacts may or may not even know that the person is working for the People’s Republic of China,” he added, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Mr. Majcher, who appeared in court in Quebec via videoconference on Friday, was charged with preparatory conduct for the benefit of a foreign entity and conspiracy under Canada’s Privacy Act. Charges are rarely brought under legislation that Canada introduced after the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001.
