Fraud of $ 22 million to the MUHC: more doubt about the death of Arthur Porter

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Dr. Arthur Porter died of a cancer, June 30, 2015, while he was imprisoned in Panama and that he challenged his extradition before the canadian court.

Éric Thibault

Friday, August 4, 2017 10:36

UPDATE
Friday, August 4, 2017 19:12

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The legal saga for fraud, Arthur Porter, the ex-boss of the McGill university health Centre (MUHC), who died two years ago while he was detained at Panama, has finally had its ending, Friday, in Montreal.

Judge Yves Paradis has ordered the conclusion of this folder to the conspiracy, breach of trust and fraud of $ 22.5 million after the Director of criminal and penal prosecutions (DPCP) was filed in court the certificate of the death of dr. Porter, which dates back to June 30, 2015.

The Crown has also obtained sworn statements from an officer of the Institute of legal medicine in Panama and a representative of the government of that country stating that the certificate of the death of Dr. Porter is beautiful and authentic.

Time

“We have received these affidavits from panamanian authorities only last week,” said Me Nathalie Kleber, without being able to explain the reasons for the delay.

The lawsuit had need of these official documents before closing the deal, and, even if two investigators from the Unité permanente anticorruption (UPAC) had come to Panama to see from their eyes the remains of the alleged fraudster in the days following his death of complications of the cancer.

The 59 year old man was accused of having received millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for granting the engineering firm SNC-Lavalin the contract for the construction of the super hospital complex of the MUHC, with a value of $1.3 billion.

Porter had been arrested in an airport in Panama in the company of his wife, in June 2013, and was incarcerated in the penitentiary of La Joya until his death because he challenged his extradition before the canadian court.

Five accused

Unlike him, Pamela Porter had promptly consented to be returned to Quebec, where she pleaded guilty to charges of recycling proceeds of crime, in December 2014.

She was sentenced to two years less a day in prison, in addition to confiscated by the State-of-the-money and condos with a value totaling $5.5 million.

There are still five defendants to be tried in this survey of UPAC, including the former CEO of SNC-Lavalin Pierre Duhaime, the former chief of the planning and real estate at the MUHC Yanaï Elbaz. The accused must return to court on September 27.

The date of their trial has still not been fixed, and this, more than four years after their arrest.