Montreal CIUSSS West Island spent $312 520 $ in attorneys’ fees for a lawsuit involving one of its executives suspected of embezzling more than $400 000 $ from public funds.
After a delay of more than 18 months, the facility finally responded to a request for access to information from the Bureau of Investigation.
We learn that the CIUSSS paid $88,319 in legal fees against one of its former executives, Magdi Kamel, who worked at St. Mary’s Hospital Center.
The facility accused Kamel, among other things, of “having fraudulently been reimbursed for personal expenses that were not related to the activities [de l’hôpital]”.
Photo archive, Ben Pelosse
Kamel was director of St. Mary’s Hospital Center in Montreal.
The CIUSSS also paid $225,000 to prevent the public from being informed of the details of the alleged fraud. He fought all the way to the Supreme Court to keep the Bureau of Investigation from getting their hands on a forensic report detailing the scheme Kamel instituted.
Unjustified Expenses
The former manager allegedly embezzled a total of $416,000 between 2009 and 2015. He even had certain purchases delivered to his home or that of his spouse.
In 2016, following the discovery of the rose pot, the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île went to court to force Magdi Kamel to repay approximately $512,000. Notably, before the verdict, he obtained a forfeiture of his luxurious Kirkland home, which was then for sale for $879,000.
Archive photo
His then home in Kirkland was confiscated by the CIUSSS de l’Ouest-de-l’Île-de-Montréal.
At the time, Magdi Kamel was deputy director and care coordinator at CIUSSS. He resigned a few months before the trial against him began.
However, all steps were taken behind closed doors, that is, they were not accessible to the public or journalists.
It took several months for the Bureau of Investigation to obtain the information presented to the court and reveal the details of what Kamel was accused of. In the meantime, the establishment and its ex-board have reached an out-of-court settlement.
They challenged in court the request for the release of the report by forensic accounting firm PwC, which detailed the systems used by Kamel.
Report kept secret
Finally, after four years of litigation, it was the Supreme Court that dismissed the motion in a separate decision by four judges to three. The Majority Judges considered that lawyers must retain control over the documents on file in particular.
The other judges, including the Chief Justice, welcomed the dissemination of the report, claiming that the issue of the publicity of the proceedings should have been taken into account.
The forensic report will therefore remain secret forever.
In 2017, the hospital said it had informed the Permanent Anti-Corruption Unit (UPAC) about the case. So far, no charges have been brought against Magdi Kamel.
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