The RCMP’s former director of intelligence allegedly tried to sell classified information to a man accused of laundering money for terrorists. This was revealed in the trial of Cameron Ortis.
Newly released documents reveal Canada’s involvement in an international investigation into an alleged money laundering ring operating in the Greater Toronto Area that authorities believe is linked to a man accused of laundering money for terrorists.
Altaf Khanani, a Pakistani citizen, has been under international law enforcement surveillance since at least 2008, when he was arrested in his home country for alleged illegal money transfers.
The US State Department has accused Mr Khanani, previously described as one of the world’s most wanted fraudsters, of laundering billions of dollars for organized crime and terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
Documents released during the trial of Mr. Ortis, the former director of intelligence for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), who is charged with four violations of the Security of Information Act, show the extent to which Canada is involved in the coordinated investigative effort involved Mr. Khanani and show that Canadian intelligence believed he was a central figure in a suspected money laundering ring in the Greater Toronto Area.
According to documents released during the trial, representatives of the Group of Five – an intelligence alliance between Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States – met in September 2014 and agreed to share intelligence and information about Mr. Khanani’s activities .
According to a September 2014 RCMP report, Altaf Khanani is believed to be heading a multi-billion dollar international money laundering organization based in the United Arab Emirates.
RCMP report identifies business dealings linked to Mr. Khanani as a priority threat […] due to its use by organized crime or terrorist groups to launder the proceeds of crime.
A second RCMP investigation report, also included in the trial documents, shows that intelligence in Canada identified several agents working for Mr. Khanani.
Project Oryx is the RCMP’s code name for its investigation into the alleged money laundering scheme in the Greater Toronto Area. The investigation identified suspects.
One of the RCMP reports submitted to the court shows that FINTRAC, Canada’s Center for Financial Transaction Analysis and Reporting, reported to the RCMP more than $3.5 billion in financial transactions that originated from one company.
A report from the RCMP’s National Intelligence Coordination Center (NICC), contained in court documents, recommended that two Ontario-based businessmen be investigated to investigate their possible ties to Mr. Khanani. Five Ontario companies have also been identified that may be directly or indirectly linked to Mr. Khanani’s business.
Ortis allegedly tried to correspond with Khanani
Mr. Ortis, 51, is the RCMP’s former director general of intelligence and is accused of trying to sell top-secret information.
He faces six charges, including three counts of intentional and unauthorized disclosure of special operational information and one count of attempted disclosure of special operational information.
Mr Ortis’ trial began on Tuesday and is expected to last eight weeks. He pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
Emails found on a USB stick seized from Mr Ortis were used as evidence and suggested he was trying to contact Mr Khanani and share classified information with him.
Mr. Ortis’s lawyers have not yet laid out their case but have indicated they will argue that he acted with authorization.
After an extensive, multi-year investigation involving five countries, Mr. Khanani was arrested in Panama and faces 14 money laundering-related charges in Florida.
This arrest resulted from an unprecedented level of exchange and operational cooperation between the Five Eyes partners, and the lessons from this case are already being applied to subsequent investigations into complex criminal networks, FBI spokesman Randall Coleman said in 2016.
US court documents show Mr Khanani agreed to a plea deal and pleaded guilty to a single charge of money laundering conspiracy. He was sentenced in Miami to more than five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
With information from CBC News