A report in The Gazette confirms that an eleven year RCMP investigation has led to charges being laid against what police are describing as the “central figure” in the federal government’s sponsorship scandal:
MONTREAL – The RCMP announced Friday that charges have been laid against a businessman who was described as the “central figure” in the federal sponsorship scandal and was a close associate of ex-prime minister Jean Chretien.
Jacques Corriveau, a longtime federal Liberal organizer, is facing charges of fraud against the government, forgery and laundering proceeds of crime. He is to appear in court on Jan. 10.
The charges come after a wide-ranging investigation that was triggered nearly 11 years ago and is still underway. Police say, however, they are finished with the now 80-year-old Corriveau.
The Mounties allege that Corriveau set up a kickback system on contracts awarded during the sponsorship program, using his Pluri Design Canada Inc. to defraud the federal government.
The story notes that Corriveau is the sixth person to be charged in relation to the sponsorship scandal and that the RCMP maintains that some of the funds that he allegedly misappropriated ended up going to the Liberal Party of Canada. The current Conservative government is calling on the Liberal Party to repay the misappropriated funds.
