Janet Watson lost all funds from her retirement savings plan (RRSP), which she had invested in Mount Real, Montreal. Tens of thousands of small Canadian investors have lost their savings in a fraudulent scheme set up by Montreallers Lino Matteo and John Santoudakis.
This is one of the biggest fraud cases in Canadian history. No more than 500 million were found.
Janet Watson’s appeal to MPs follows recent reportsInvestigate And Fifth Estate In the opinion of experts, it revealed the disappearance of their investments and the potential links between the four shell companies merged into the Isle of Man.
In her email, which the minister sent to BBU in early March and copied to hundreds of other investors, Janet Watson said it was time for politicians to act in light of this new revelation.
She sees federal politicians as having the opportunity to help victims find their money, as well as to study how tax havens and the anonymity they offer affect all Canadians.
Millions, millions, millions of dollars are gone. How? What is ‘or’ [les fraudeurs] Did they do it and how did they get out with it?
, She told CBC / Radio-Canada.
There is no RCMP to conduct this type of investigation
, She lamented that the Federal Police Force had previously refused to investigate because of the complexity of the Sinar, Norshield and Mount Real case.
Emails obtained in the leaked reports were also leaked Paradise Papers, A massive leak of classified documents, linking the accounting firm KPMG’s strategy to four front companies, some financial experts believe are linked to fraud.
The Shashkwa, Qatar, Spatha and Sciax companies are named after ancient swords and were founded on the Isle of Man almost 20 years ago.
In a letter to CBC / Radio-Canada, the lawyer representing KPMG said that the author of these emails was wrong and that there was any indication that KPMG had helped to establish these four companies. False and defamation
.
The hearings were interrupted
The Isle of Man has previously drawn the attention of parliamentarians to a controversial conspiracy hatched by accounting firm KPMG for wealthy Canadian clients.
In 2016, members of the Finance Committee learned that KPMG’s scheme was not only being sold as a way to avoid paying taxes, but also to avoid lenders.
An internal KPMG document obtained by members of parliament states that the accounting firm promotes its scheme to its high net worth clients, that their fortunes are protected and will not be there Nothing [qu’un] Lender / Ex-Spouse etc. [puisse] Claim
.
KPMG’s internal documents reveal that the company is charging its clients at least 000 100,000 to gain access to the secret scheme, as well as a percentage of the taxes evaded by their clients.
According to the Canada Revenue Agency, the KPMG scheme a Hallucinations
who Aim to deceive
Tax Department.
In 2016, the Finance Committee abruptly closed its trial on the Isle of Man, with KPMG arguing that it could affect court cases.
Since then, the Canada Revenue Agency Reached from the court bases With KPMG clients, but the Finance Committee has not resumed its inquiries into the matter.
Opposition parties have stated they will not run in the by-elections
Last month, NDP MP Peter Julian introduced a motion calling on the finance committee to reconsider tax havens, including the Isle of Man and four front-line companies identified by CBC / Radio-Canada.
People were deceived, they lost their savings. The nice words spoken by the federal government in the fight against tax evasion are not enough
, He he said.
The Conservatives would support the NDP resolution, but did not say when the committee would take up the matter. Tory MP Pat Kelly, deputy chairman of the finance committee, said he was ready to look into tax evasion, fraud and the Isle of Man cases. Tax evasion and fraud often go hand in hand
, He told Radio-Canada.
Gabriel Ste-Marie, a member of the Black Cubacois and vice chair of the Finance Committee, hopes all parties will support the NDP resolution.
If the Committee takes this matter with a new revelation, we will seriously assist in resolving the situation and see to it that it does not happen again, but for that, it takes the will of the Liberals and the Conservatives, and stakes.
MP Elizabeth May said the Green Party was also supporting the finance committee to study the file.
Canadian bank accounts in tax havens డబ్బు Money hidden from tax authorities. Which party does not want this to be disclosed?
Liberal Wayne Easter, chairman of the Finance Committee, did not answer our phone calls about the victims’ petition.
In a minority parliament, opposition parties can join forces to conduct committee hearings without the support of the ruling party.
Are Isle of Man companies associated with fraudsters?
Three leaders – Ronald Weinberg, John Santoudakis and Lino Matteo – committed fraud in 2016. But to this day, the missing sums – nearly half a billion dollars – remain undetected.
The four pre-fraud companies were merged in mid-December 2001, The same week that Ronald Weinberg and his associates tried to flee their creditors. All three companies were later dissolved in 2005 when the fraud came to light.
Wes Vorhees, a Toronto lawyer who spent years trying to find the missing million dollars, believes documents obtained by CBC / Radio-Canada could breathe new life into attempts to recover stolen money.
Without the landmark you have no chance, but there you have a starting point
, He he said.
Marwa Rizki, a professor of tax law and a member of the PLQ at Sherbrooke University, also believes that there is a link between the four shell companies of the Isle of Man and the Sinar affair.
I don’t believe in coincidence
, She says.
She reviewed several other documents she received Investigate And Fifth Estate She strongly points out that these Isle of Man companies have a connection to KPMG. She believes further investigation by authorities is needed.
According to her, the wealthy and their accounting firms are seen differently from the average Canadian and have an opinion Another legal system for those who actually put pressure on the government
.
In a letter to Radio-Canada management, KPMG said it had searched its files and found no evidence of its involvement in the creation of the four companies.
Except for Radio-Canada journalists Further evidence of KPMG Canada’s involvement […] It is alleged that the KPMG did not partner with Canada, the allegations being clearly baseless, false and defamatory
, According to Mark Gelovitz, a lawyer representing the accounting firm.
Janet Watson, one of the many victims of the Mount Real fraud, hopes the Finance Committee will also look into the role of accounting firms and banks that have provided financial services to Norshield and Mount Real companies.
KPMG sued the auditor and later a group of investors for one of Norshield’s investment-related funds. KPMG settled amicably without accepting responsibility.
-Contributed by Paul Emile de Entremont, Mark Kelly, Sanna Choi, Lynette Fortune, Kimberly Ivani, Benoit Michad, Priscilla Hwang, Nicole Percy and Cherry Sicharan
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