Alleged money-laundering ring busted in Quebec

Quebec provincial police have arrested four people in connection with an alleged international money-laundering operation for organized crime.

Police said they seized $48 million in assets, the largest such seizure in Canadian history.

According to police, money from organized crime and falsified construction invoices was funneled to shell companies in Belgium and Switzerland. Those companies then sent the money back to Canada to a business called Speedo Financial Corp. in Montreal's Rosemont district.

Speedo would then lend the money to legitimate borrowers at a legal rate of 18 per cent, police told a news conference Wednesday.

"What we have to do as police officers is go beyond what seems to be legal, and investigate the origin of the funds that are used to committ these — on face value —  legal activities," said RCMP Insp. Martine Fontaine.

Police estimate the scheme resulted in $12 million in lost tax revenue 1996 between 2009.

In 2005, Speedo was fined $1.5 million for tax evasion in a scheme linked to illegal drug smuggling. The company helped funnel money to offshore companies that created fake invoices. Those invoices helped to launder millions of dollars for a drug dealer bringing in marijuana from the Bahamas.

International connections

Four people were arrested on Wednesday, including Speedo Financial's president Ronald Chicoine.

Chicoine, 57, was out on bail after having been arrested two years ago for his alleged role in a false-invoice scam tied to the construction industry.

"Hopefully this time he will stop his activities," said Fontaine.

Also arrested were Serge Perrier, 50, an accountant who handled the books for Chicoine, and Andre Ronald Comeau, 58, a disbarred Quebec lawyer who acted as a facilitator between the European shell companies.

Police were still looking for Regis Dini and Alain Vayda, both Swiss, and Jacques Stalmans, a Belgian.

The four Canadians arrested will face a range of charges including fraud, gangsterism and money-laundering.

Among the $48 million worth of assets seized are:

• Five bank accounts in Canada and Switzerland, worth $5.7 million.
• Four cars, including two Porsches.
• Four buildings that included Speedo Financial's offices.
• Two homes.