A retired Canadian National Police officer was charged with foreign interference on Friday after spying for the Chinese government and assaulting a person on behalf of the government, authorities said.
The retired officer, William Majcher, 60, “allegedly used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit,” authorities said in a statement. The case is likely to increase calls for a public inquiry into the Chinese government’s alleged involvement in Canadian affairs.
Mr Majcher, who lived in Hong Kong and was arrested in Vancouver on Thursday evening after voluntarily returning to Canada, also assisted in the “efforts by the Chinese government to identify and intimidate any person who falls outside 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 described as Mr. Majcher, came after the issue of China’s meddling in Canadian elections has been plaguing political circles for months. Chinese diplomats and agents in Canada allegedly tried to undermine elected officials who criticized China’s human rights record, especially in districts with high ethnic Chinese voters in Vancouver and Toronto.
The Canadian government recently expelled a Chinese diplomat accused of conspiracy to intimidate an opposition legislator in the Toronto area. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been criticized by opposition parties for being soft on China, has resisted calls for a public inquiry into China’s activities in Canada. Chinese officials have denied any interference.
Insp. David Beaudoin, the head of the unit investigating Majcher in Montreal, said none of the suspect’s activities “appeared to be related in any way to interference in Canadian politics”.
Mr. Majcher, according to his LinkedIn page, was president of EMIDR, a Hong Kong-based venture firm.
Sergeant Camille Habel, a spokeswoman for the RCMP, said the Chinese government was “one of the major clients” of the company, which specialized in “cross-border financial crime investigations and asset recovery”.
Inspector Beaudoin said investigators had so far identified a single person who helped target Mr Majcher, but added the investigation was still ongoing. He added that authorities “do not rule out the possibility of arresting and indicting more individuals in the coming weeks.”
Mr. Majcher worked at the RCMP between 1985 and 2007, and toward the end of his police career specialized in federal investigations in the drugs and financial crimes section, Sergeant Habel said.
Dennis Molinaro, a former national security analyst for the Canadian government who now teaches legal studies at Ontario Tech University, said someone with Mr. Majcher might have useful information for the Chinese government.
“He would have useful information about how studies are conducted and the methods used,” said Mr Molinaro. “Someone involved in that industry would also have useful contacts to contact, and those contacts may not even know that the person works for the People’s Republic of China,” he added, referring to the People’s Republic of China.
Appearing in court in Quebec on Friday via videoconference, Mr Majcher was charged with preparatory acts in favor of a foreign entity and conspiracy under Canada’s Security of Information Act. The law, introduced by Canada after the 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, has rarely been challenged.