Former conservative Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney has been ordered by a court to pay C$470,000 (US$444,000) to former business associate Karlheinz Schreiber.
Schreiber, a German-Canadian businessman who is fighting extradition to Germany where he faces tax evasion, fraud and bribery charges, sued Mulroney to recoup C$300,000 in cash the businessman said he had handed to the former prime minister during meetings in New York and Montreal in 1993 and 1994. Mulroney had already left politics at the time.
Schreiber said he paid Mulroney the money to enlist his help in establishing an arms factory and a pasta business, both in Canada.
The lawsuit claimed Mulroney did not follow through on his business commitments.
Mulroney failed to respond to the lawsuit before the deadline, which meant that the court ordered him this week to pay Schreiber the C$300,000, plus C$170,000 in interest.
Mulroney's lawyer, Kenneth Prehogan, said the ruling would not stand on appeal because the Ontario Superior Court of Justice has no jurisdiction to consider the lawsuit.
The former prime minister's lawyers did not file a defense because they believe the case should be argued in a Quebec court.
Mulroney served as Canada's prime minister from 1984 to 1993.
German prosecutors allege that Schreiber avoided income tax on C$45.6 million in commissions for brokering sales of arms.
Schreiber worked as a lobbyist, consultant and dealmaker in the sale of aircraft and arms.
Schreiber was arrested in Canada on Aug. 31, 1999, for extradition and has been out on bail since shortly after his arrest.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese