Investigation of the UPAC: separate trial for a former official of the Income

Kathryne Lamontagne

On Wednesday 10 January 2018 11:08

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Wednesday, January 10, 2018 12:57

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The former official Hamid Iatmanene will undergo a separate trial from that of his seven co-accused arrested by the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC), which have conspired in a tender for a project of$ 24 Million driven by Revenue Quebec.

READ ALSO: UPAC: a trial for conspiracy involving computer companies and officials begins this week

The trial of Mohamed El Khayat, and Jean-François Robidas, the former leaders of the now-defunct Computer company EBR, Patrick Fortin, Gilles Gariépy and Daniel Létourneau, three former officials of IBM Canada, Jamal El Khaiat, brother of Mohamed and former employee of Revenue Quebec, as well as Abdelaziz Younsil, part of the ministry of public Security, has started Wednesday at the palace of justice of Quebec.

The eighth co-accused, Hamid Iatmanene, a former employee of Revenue Quebec, will be a separate trial, his lawyer is off work until at least April for health reasons. If he wants to keep this professional relationship, the former employee of the State has, however, informed the court that he had already started to take steps in order to find another lawyer.

The judge Steve Magnan has consented to the holding of a separate trial, in particular, in order not to delay the other defendants, all of whom were ready to proceed. Referring to the judgment in Jordan, the magistrate recalled that the denunciation, in this case, was dated in the month of march 2015, and that a report could prejudice the interests of justice. The record of Hamid Iatmanene has been awarded to 9 April.

Plot for a tender

There is a criticism to former officials and employees of computer companies have conspired in order that a consortium of EBRS and IBM wins a public contract of$ 14 Million. Revenu Québec had launched the first call for tenders, three in the framework of a project of it platform, totalling$24 Million.

Hamid Iatmanene would have played a “central role” in this folder, ” said the Crown prosecutor Mathieu Longpré. He had allegedly provided to the affected firms grids of criteria, in order that they make their comments and changes. All this, in the aim that their software qualifies for the bidding, said the prosecutor in her opening statement.

However, this was never not the case. The tender has been cancelled before the arrests, no bidder who has been deemed compliant by the committee to evaluate 70 technical requirements of the contract.

The Crown has proceeded with the deposit of the approximately 220 pieces related to the trial, including many e-mails sent between co-accused as well as invoices and photographs.

The investigation of the UPAC started in August 2013, following a report. In march 2015, the five men were arrested and charged.