Former Calgary mayor Nenshi denounces alleged plot to entrap him with illegal Russian money

Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is calling a purported plot to entrap him into accepting illegal Russian money "disappointing," after a report surfaced Monday that several people were involved in a plan to taint his reputation and remove him from office.

Canadaland, the news site that reported on the alleged scheme, said "Operation Peacock'' was an attempt by a political fixer, backed by local business interests and arranged by political strategists.

"How disappointing to read about this alleged plot against me. It appears that there are people that seem to think that their money and their connections make them more important or powerful than everyday citizens," Nenshi said in a statement to CBC News on Monday.

"As a community, we should never stand for the kind of assault on our democracy and on our society that is alleged in this article."

According to Canadaland, the plan involved a political operative who says he was hired by developers and conservatives in 2019. The operative says he was responsible for setting up a scenario that would put politicians in a compromising position and then record them accepting favours.

Nenshi took no money.

Political scientist Lori Williams says that if the story is true, it shows how some people couldn't accept the outcome of Calgary elections.

Nenshi was first elected in 2010 and won two more times before not seeking re-election last year. 

"Present a better alternative to voters in the next election … that's usually the way that democratic processes work," said Williams, an associate professor at MRU. 

"In this case, they decided that since elections weren't yielding the results that they wanted, that they would try to expose a suspicion they had about the corruption in mayor Nenshi and ended up exposing corruption in themselves."

The former mayor called for all levels of government to denounce these alleged actions and asked law enforcement to investigate the alleged scheme.

"I have faith that the appropriate authorities, including the Calgary Police Service and the RCMP, will investigate this story deeply, and if any laws have been broken, appropriate action will be taken," Nenshi said.