Crown Drops Case Against Ex-RCMP Officer Majcher

0:00In British Columbia Supreme Court this week, the Crown prosecutors shocked everyone by abruptly closing the case against former RCMP officer William. Mashaire, after just two days and two witnesses, Mashaire faces charges of working on China's behalf to pressure a wealthy Vancouver real estate developer, Hong Wei Sun, into returning to face fraud, allegations involving hundreds of millions. After served with the RCMP from 1985 to 2007, focusing on undercover work and economic crimes, after retiring, he started a risk consulting firm in Hong Kong called EMIDR, specializing in asset recovery. Prosecutors claim China tapped him in 2017 to lay groundwork for intimidating Sun, who's accused of scamming China's industrial and commercial bank. Gasp's echo through the courtroom from Mashaire supporters when Prosecutor Charles Huff announced the close without calling an expected key. Witness, a friend of the accused, Mashaire's lawyer Ian Damilton told the judge he needed

1:03the rest of the day to regroup, saying he hadn't anticipated the case looking this thin. This twist follows other setbacks for the Crown, like a recent ruling that Mashaire's March 2023 arrest at Vancouver International. Airport violated his rights based on mere suspicion. The judge also tossed a search warrant for lacking solid links between Mashaire and China's Foxhunt operations, targeting fugitives abroad. With the Crown done, the defense now steps up, and the trial rolls on amid questions about evidence informed interference probes like this one. Local news, powered by AI. This is Canada News Today. I'm Corey, with the story.