The RCMP says it will review allegations of Chinese interference and Beijing-linked money laundering in Prince Edward Island “in light of new information and allegations.”
The update comes shortly after P.E.I. Premier Rob Lantz sent a letter on Oct. 16 to RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme asking for the police force to investigate evidence of foreign interference operations in the province.
Lantz also sent a letter to Sarah Paquet, CEO of the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), asking the agency to investigate allegations of money laundering by foreign actors in P.E.I.
The P.E.I. government made the request after Garry Clement, former national director of the RCMP’s proceeds of crime program, described an investigation he conducted alongside Michel Juneau-Katsuya, former head of the Asia-Pacific unit at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), of Beijing’s interference activities in the province during a press conference in Ottawa on Oct. 8….