Ex-RCMP Officer Trial: Foreign Influence Ops in Canada

0:00It's April 20th, I'm Cory with the story. This is Canada News Today, driven by AI. A former RCMP officer named William Moscher just started his trial in British Columbia Supreme Court. Prosecutors say he got ready to force a Vancouver resident back to China in 2017, where the guy was wanted for big financial crimes. Moscher pleaded not guilty to one charge or preparatory acts that break Canada's Security of Information Act, allegedly to help the Chinese. Government. This all went down in May and June of 2017, targeting a man known as Hongwei Sun or Kevin Sun, the plan supposedly involved threats or pressure to make him cooperate and return. A key email from Moscher talks about using an upcoming arrest warrant to scare the target into settling quietly, promising no jail or passport issues. If he played ball, Sun had built a real estate empire in Vancouver using proceeds from crimes worth hundreds of millions back in China.

1:00The RCMP kicked off their probe in September 2021, after Moscher retired and moved to Hong Kong. It zeroed in on whether he was aiding China's push to repatriate nationals as part of their anti-corruption drive. Just this month, the court ruled that Moscher's main evidence and email to an associate can be used at trial. But days earlier, another judge said his arrest at Vancouver Airport in 2023 was unconstitutional. Calling it based on just a hunch, with no solid grounds. The investigation was still in early stages back then. As the trial unfolds, it'll test how far foreign influence ops reach into Canada. Keep an eye on this one. It shines a light on the quiet pressures playing out behind closed doors.