According to our information, these are arrest warrants issued on allegations of misappropriation of funds provided by the federal government in 2020 to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Investigators from the SQ’s Economic Crimes Investigation Branch, along with support units, are executing Supreme Court warrants. The SQ police accompany them to ensure their safety.
The police operation, which was carried out with the utmost discretion, was neither related to the presence of criminal organizations nor to the controversial files on the landfill.
The Kanesatake Mohawk Band Council urged staff present at the offices to vacate the premises and the population not to approach the search sites, including the health center.
Suspicious Transactions
The Emergency Response Unit (ERU), set up by the Band Council to deal with the health crisis in Kanesatake, reportedly received a total of $3.89 million in emergency aid from Ottawa.
A billing report obtained by Radio-Canada states that total federal aid amounted to $4,889,934. The unsigned document provides details on the various issues and points out warning signs.
It specifically mentions an amount of $3.1 million paid out in salaries and one-time aid between April 2020 and July 2021. Compensation irregularities are also reported, including the additional $615,799 paid to four Emergency Response Unit employees.
An accounting professor to whom we submitted the report in question confirms the existence of several questionable transactions.
Another expert points out that the report does not appear to make a formal judgment on the fraudulent nature of the additional remuneration, but it does identify several breaches of standard control procedures and policies that are red flags.
With information from Delphine Jung