Revenue Canada paid the ineligible owner of a modest auto body shop in the Laurentians a $5 million tax refund and promptly bought a luxury penthouse.
And as if that wasn’t enough, that coachbuilder, Yvan Drapeau, would have then fraudulently sold the condo to a company now chaired by a Joliette real estate developer accused of attempted murder, Jean-François Malo.
Our Bureau of Investigation has found that the federal tax authorities are actively attempting to put the balance sheet in order after, without asking too many questions, on March 27 they dumped the whopping sum of $4,997,433.72 on an im commercial bank account opened last month. previous by Yvan Drapeau.
decency
Here we see the tax bill addressed to Yvan Drapeau’s company with a refund of almost $5 million.
Eight days later, the tax authorities discovered that they had been victims of “questionable, even fraudulent, maneuvers” (see opposite) by Drapeau, owner of Distribution Carflex Inc., a very small body shop on Boulevard Curé. Labelle, in Mirabel.
But it was too late. Drapeau, a resident of Saint-Lin-Laurentides, had already “began to waste or abuse the refund,” according to Revenue Canada.
He’s selling the penthouse
Specifically, he bought an apartment in a prestigious building in Old Montreal for more than $2 million with no mortgage before selling it to a numbered company he controlled for $0. This assignment was made against “good and valid consideration already paid”, without giving further details.
But four days after the transfer, it was none other than Jean-François Malo who was accused of the March 2020 assassination attempt on lawyer Nicholas Daudelin, who became president and sole managing director of the numbered penthouse owner.
This absurd story has led to several lawsuits in recent weeks. Tax authorities believe the transfer of the penthouse was “fraud Her Majesty’s rights”.
On April 19, the federal ministry obtained an injunction from Judge Denis Gascon of federal court to assert his rights to the condo. That way, he can reclaim the building and refund some of the amounts owed to him, unless the situation changes.
account frozen
Two weeks earlier, at the request of the tax authorities, TD Bank blocked the bank account into which the $5 million tax refund had been deposited.
Yvan Drapeau, in turn, sought an injunction against TD Bank, accusing it of blocking access to funds “without just cause and without serious cause”. So far he has tried unsuccessfully to empty the account of the remaining $ 3 million in order to transfer this amount to a notary in Trois-Rivières. He even demanded $100,000 from the bank for the “hassles, troubles and inconveniences” he allegedly caused.
Jean-Louis Fortin / JdeM
The company that received the $5 million tax refund is based in a commercial building in Mirabel. When we were there last week the door was locked and nobody was there.
On April 4, a TD representative contacted him to inquire about these unusual transactions. Mr. Drapeau assures him that he “explained all the steps” and “provided all the supporting documents”.
“We have been waiting for this comeback for a long time. [d’impôt] ‘ he wrote to him notably in an email the next day, explaining that he was in the process of merging several companies.
The parties must return to court on May 30.
According to tax authorities, starting in February 2023, Yvan Drapeau used the following “questionable, even fraudulent” maneuvers to improperly benefit from a $5 million tax refund within a few weeks:
1. On February 17, he filed an amended 2021 tax return to add more than $16 million in taxable capital gains to his Carflex business.
2. As a result, on February 22, the CRA requested payment of $7.3 million in taxes related to this amended tax return.
3. Also on 22 February, immediately after receiving Carflex’s new tax assessment, Drapeau objected to the payment it was being asked to pay by the tax authorities. ” Good morning! An error has crept into the declaration […]. Please open the opposition file to avoid problems,” he wrote specifically to the ARQ.
4. On March 21, despite objecting to his amended 2021 tax return, he filed a 2022 tax return stating that Carflex paid a dividend of $13 million. This entitled Carflex to a $5 million refund.
5. On March 27, CRA deposited the $5 million into a bank account opened by Drapeau nine days prior to Carflex’s 2021 tax return amendment.
6. On April 5, the CRA ordered TD Bank to withhold the funds, but the damage was already done. More than $1.8 million has already been withdrawn.
Federal tax authorities are surprised that Yvan Drapeau, who appears to be a humble mechanic for the Laurentians, has suddenly bought a luxury penthouse.
“Mr. Drapeau’s recent acquisition of a building without a prior mortgage for US$2,035,000 is puzzling given his reported earnings over the past few years,” said Mr. Kloé Sévigny, Deputy Attorney General of Canada.
For example between 2015 and 2019, Flag have never reported a net income of more than $31,000 per year, according to Revenue Canada.
The penthouse, which was sold to a company now chaired by Jean-François Malo and which tax authorities are trying to reclaim, covers almost 2,800 square meters. It has three bedrooms and two balconies.
Screenshot of Sax’s website by the river
The website of the Sax project on the river where Yvan Drapeau bought a $2 million penthouse.
The apartment, one of the largest in this luxurious complex called Sax on the River, is described by the promoter as “the exclusive address in Old Montreal where everyone wants to settle down to admire the calm of the river and feel the effervescence.” Out of town”.
This “refined interior design” building features “floor-to-ceiling” windows, as well as “fine materials and excellent soundproofing.” A heated swimming pool is also available to residents.
– Residents of Saint-Lin-Laurentides.
– Owner of a small body parts distributor in Mirabel.
– He mysteriously gave the $2 million penthouse he just bought to a company now managed by Jean-François Malo “in return for good and valid consideration already paid”.
decency
Jean Francois Malo
– Joliette real estate developer
– He was sued for nearly $6 million by Desjardins, who accused him of embezzling $3.5 million. The case was settled out of court in June 2020.
– Charged with attempted murder, firing a firearm, intimidation and obstruction of justice in June 2020 in connection with the attack on Me Nicholas Daudelin at his home in March 2020. Daudelin represented Desjardins in the dispute between the financial institution and Malo.
– Released pending trial in August 2020. The Crown appealed to the Supreme Court in hopes of continuing to hold him – to no avail.
– The other two defendants in this case, Cheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndiaye and Daouda Dieng, were sentenced yesterday to 9 and 10 years in prison respectively for firing a firearm.
– In relation to Ndiaye and Dieng’s trial, the judge wrote that “at best, the evidence supports a conclusion that Mr. Malo had grievances against Mr. Daudelin,” and that “nothing allows us to understand what he hoped to do.” his death.”
– Malo will stand trial separately. Yesterday, a judge delayed until July 12 a decision on Malo’s request to have his legal fees paid by the state.
Photo provided by the court
In this surveillance camera image filed in court, we see Jean-François Malo (left) and Sheikh Ahmed Tidiane Ndiaye, a month after the attempted murder of Me Daudelin.