How Irving's Bermuda insurance company piled up millions in offshore tax-free profits
Spokesperson calls captive insurance ‘a good business approach’ to cut costs
New Brunswick's billionaire Irving family created an offshore insurance company that allowed them to move millions of dollars in profits out of Canada and into the tax haven of Bermuda, according to leaked documents reviewed by CBC News and Radio-Canada.
The Irving-owned Bermuda insurance company, F.M.A. Ltd., sold insurance premiums to Irving companies in Canada and Bermuda for their marine vessels.
F.M.A. then reinsured major risks to those vessels by paying lower premiums to a non-Irving reinsurance company based in Bermuda.
That allowed F.M.A. to accumulate almost $13.4 million in untaxed income between 1973, when it was incorporated, and 2001, the last year for which CBC News and Radio-Canada have financial statements.
The company's records provide a rare glimpse into a topic that has intrigued New Brunswickers for years: the complex multibillion-dollar financial apparatus — including a $3 billion tax-free trust — that corporate patriarch K.C. Irving created in Bermuda over several decades.
"Under current Bermuda law, the Company is not obligated to pay any taxes in Bermuda on either income or capital gains," says a note that appeared in F.M.A.'s annual financial statements between 1985 and 2001.
F.M.A. was what is known as a "captive insurance" company, an insurer with the same owner as the insured company or assets, allowing that owner to benefit from the insurance profits.
J.D. Irving Ltd. was listed as a parent company of F.M.A. Ltd., an Irving-owned insurance company in Bermuda. (Mike Heenan/CBC)
It had no office: its Bermuda address was that of Appleby, an offshore services law firm used by the Irvings. The leaked documents, which come from Appleby, identify no F.M.A. insurance customers other than Irving companies.
Anne McInerney, the J.D. Irving Ltd. vice-president of communications, said in an emailed statement that F.M.A. "has not been active for at least 10 years."
It's an easy way for a Canadian-based multinational to save some Canadian tax.
- Geoffrey Loomer
The company turned down an interview request and McInerney did not specify in her email whether a new company was set up to replace F.M.A., but suggested J.D. Irving Ltd. still considers captive insurance to be a useful strategy.
"A captive insurance company was then and continues to be a good business approach to reduce insurance costs and ensure the best possible insurance coverage," she said.
Geoffrey Loomer, a professor of tax law at the University of Victoria Law School in British Columbia, says it's not surprising the Irving family set up a captive insurance firm.
"It's an easy way for a Canadian-based multinational to save some Canadian tax," he said.
"The premiums that they're paying … that's a deductible expense [in Canada], usually. It's income to the Bermuda insurance company. But the tax there is zero."
In 2020, Reuters News reported that several large global oil companies, including Shell, BP and Chevron, used offshore captive insurance firms and banks to lower their tax bills.
The practice is legal.
McInerney said all insurance sales between F.M.A. and J.D. Irving Ltd. companies were at fair market value. Canadian tax authorities wouldn't have allowed them overwise, she said.
Irving 'captive insurance' company revealed in leak
F.M.A. Ltd. is one of several previously unknown Irving companies in Bermuda revealed in documents leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and CBC and Radio-Canada.
Many of the records in the leak, known as the Paradise Papers, come from Appleby, which was founded in Bermuda.
F.M.A.’s existence was unknown until the Paradise Papers leak, which included these financial statements. (Frédéric Gagnon/Radio-Canada)
The Irving family is among Canada's wealthiest.
K.C. Irving's oldest son, J.K. Irving, and his family oversee J.D. Irving Ltd.'s forestry and paper operations, New Brunswick's largest private sector employer.
His fortune has been estimated by Forbes Magazine at between $4.1 billion and $8.3 billion over the last decade.
K.C.'s second son, Arthur, and his family own Irving Oil, which operates Canada's largest oil refinery in Saint John.
Forbes has pegged his wealth at $1.9 billion to $5.5 billion.
A third son, Jack, died in 2010. His family owns Irving companies such as Ocean Steel and Commercial Properties.
Irving companies have benefited from federal and provincial subsidies, taxpayer-funded government contracts and tax concessions over the years.
They range from $304 million in loans to J.D. Irving Ltd.'s Irving Shipbuilding in Halifax to a 25-year cap on property taxes — later repealed — on Canaport LNG, co-owned at the time by Irving Oil.
Offshore holdings and an ode to 'home'
The Irvings portray themselves as fiercely loyal to New Brunswick, driven by a desire to create jobs in, and give back to, their home province.
"We're for New Brunswick. This is home," Jim Irving, J.K.'s oldest son and co-CEO of J.D. Irving Ltd., told a committee of the provincial legislature in September 2021. "We're not absentee owners, sitting in New York or Toronto."
Jim Irving appears at a legislative committee hearing in 2021, in an image taken from the New Brunswick Legislature stream. (CBC)
Yet F.M.A.'s captive insurance arrangement is just one example of the Irvings moving their wealth far from home to avoid Canadian taxation.
Irving family members pay "onshore" taxes in Canada such as personal income taxes, and their operations here are subject to property taxes.
But for decades, a large part of their fortune was maintained offshore, including holding companies and the $3 billion trust created by K.C. Irving's will, out of the reach of Canadian tax authorities.
"That's a lot of money that's not in schools, in our hospitals, on our roads, in our common good," said Green Party MLA Kevin Arseneau, who has raised the Irving use of offshore tax havens in the legislature.
"That's a lot of money that was not taxed, that is not in the hands of who it should belong to, which is the people of New Brunswick."
Leak reveals previously unknown Irving companies in Bermuda
Over the years, Statistics Canada's inter-corporate ownership database showed the New Brunswick Irving companies under eight Bermuda holding companies: F.M.O., F.M.R., Forest Mere Investments Ltd., F.M.P., F.M.W., F.M.K., F.M.N. and F.M.I.
Several Irving Bermuda holding companies have appeared for years in a Statistics Canada database. (Jacques Poitras/CBC)
F.M.O. was the parent company of Irving Oil, and F.M.P. was the parent of Irving Pulp and Paper.
Two Irving shipping companies, Kent Line International Ltd. and Voyageur Shipping Ltd., were also registered in Bermuda and publicly identified by Statistics Canada.
The Paradise Papers leak reveals five previously unknown companies using the "F.M." naming convention that have never appeared in the federal database: F.M.C., F.M.E., F.M.F., F.M.H. and F.M.A.
"The various 'FM' companies you refer to have not been active in our organization for more than 10 years," McInerney said in her statement. She said the J.D. Irving Ltd. companies "are wholly owned and controlled by Canadians who proudly reside in New Brunswick."
Shipping company's name an anagram
Another newly revealed offshore shell company incorporated in Bermuda by the Irvings is Gainvir Transport, which owned some of the vessels insured by F.M.A.
"Gainvir" is an anagram for "A. Irving."
Court filings in 1989 listed Gainvir's business address at Kent Line's office at 300 Union St. in Saint John, J.D. Irving Ltd.'s head office.
F.M.A. insured vessels owned by J.D. Irving Ltd. and Timberline Shipping, a company described as "affiliated" with Gainvir. F.M.A. also lent Gainvir and Timberline $2.7 million to buy two ships, the Irving Forest and the Irving Timber.
"The interest that they would earn on that loan would be income in Bermuda, which means it's zero corporate tax in Bermuda," Loomer said.
Insurance firm paid no taxes in Bermuda
Because Bermuda's corporate registry doesn't disclose the shareholders of companies registered there, Irving ownership of F.M.A. would have remained a secret if not for the Paradise Papers leak.
Irving ownership of F.M.A. would have remained a secret if not for the Paradise Papers leak. (Frédéric Gagnon/Radio-Canada)
A February 1973 letter by Bermuda's deputy controller of foreign exchange says Forest Mere Investments, an Irving holding company incorporated in Bermuda in 1969, was the beneficial owner of shares in F.M.A.
A 1988 letter describes J.D. Irving Ltd. as F.M.A.'s "parent company" and a 1996 document calls Forest Mere its "ultimate parent."
Bermuda does not charge corporate income tax on companies that do not produce or manufacture anything on the island.
F.M.A. often sold premiums for more than what it was spending
Six months after F.M.A. was created, it signed a reinsurance agreement with Insurance Managers Ltd. of Bermuda.
F.M.A. would cover claims below $150,000 from its own accounts but would reinsure potential claims above that amount with a third party.
In 1974 F.M.A. sold $948,920 worth of insurance premiums to Irving companies and paid $430,599 to third-party reinsurance firm Insurance Managers Ltd. That left F.M.A. with $518,321 in "net earned premiums" and $131,258 in net income.
The company continued charging more in premiums than what it was spending on reinsurance, accumulating $13.4 million in cumulative net income as of 2001, the last year for which there are leaked financial statements.
F.M.A. was dissolved in 2014, part of a wave of apparent dissolutions of Bermuda-based Irving companies in the wake of the family's decision to split the conglomerate.
McInerney's statement to CBC and Radio-Canada did not respond to a question about whether the Irving family owns any companies in offshore tax havens now.
An 'artificial' but legal oil trading arrangement
Even before the Appleby leak, Irving's offshore strategy has occasionally come into public view.
In 1978 the federal government tried to tax profits from IrvCal, a company created in Bermuda by Irving and its then-refinery partner Standard Oil to buy foreign crude at a low price and resell it to the Saint John refinery at a higher price.
Sales
of crude oil to the Irving refinery were routed through a Bermuda
company that allowed Irving Oil to pay less tax, an arrangement ruled to
be legal. (Carl Mondello/Radio-Canada)
That lowered the refinery's Canadian profits and its tax bill, while padding IrvCal's accounts in Bermuda with large tax-free profits.
"It makes sense from an economic point of view, from their perspective," Loomer said. "But it obviously deprives the Canadian and U.S. authorities of tax they might have raised otherwise."
From 1971 to 1975, IrvCal made $142 million from the arrangement, of which $137 million went to Irving Oil as tax-free dividends.
In 1991 Justice Patrick Mahoney of the Federal Court of Appeal ruled Irving Oil broke no law.
The IrvCal transactions were "artificial" and "a tax avoidance scheme, pure and simple," he said, but "it is my opinion that the tax avoidance scheme contrived in the present case did not offend the Income Tax Act."
Loomer said this was one of several rulings that prompted Ottawa to tighten tax laws in 1994, making it easier to tax more of what he calls "mobile income."
K.C. Irving fled 'devastating' tax bill in 1971, son confirms
Even K.C. Irving's move to take up residence in Bermuda was recently confirmed as a tax avoidance strategy.
The industrialist left Saint John at the end of 1971, days before a new provincial estate tax came into force, and never explained the move.
"I do not choose to discuss the matter further," he said in a statement at the time.
His son, J.K. Irving, said in 2017 that the tax changes could have imposed a rate of up to 80 per cent on the family companies if K.C. had continued living in Canada.
"This would have been devastating to the businesses as they would have had to have been sold to pay the anticipated death duties and taxes," Irving wrote in a letter to Atlantic Business Magazine, responding to a columnist who accused the family of tax avoidance.
Loomer said the 80 per cent tax figure is a stretch: it was the top income tax rate at the time, but other business tax rates were lower.
Tax
law expert Geoffrey Loomer says Irving’s claim of a potentially
'devastating' tax hit in 1972 'seems like an exaggeration.' Frédéric
Gagnon/Radio-Canada
"He was looking at a significant tax hit to the family," Loomer said. "Whether it would have destroyed the companies and ended all these jobs is hard to know. It seems like an exaggeration."
Irving companies won't comment on Bermuda holdings
K.C. Irving lived briefly in the Bahamas before settling in Bermuda, where he had incorporated F.M.O. in 1968 and F.M.P. and Forest Mere Investments in 1969.
Others would follow, including F.M.A., incorporated in July 1973.
The provincial estate tax was later abolished but Irving remained a Bermuda resident until his death in 1992.
Though the 2017 letter from his son framed his motive as saving Irving jobs, not the family's personal fortune, it appears to be the first time a family member has confirmed that Irving left for tax reasons.
J.D. Irving Ltd. and Irving Oil turned down requests for interviews with Irving family members about their Bermuda holdings. Jack Irving's son John did not respond to a request.
Irving Oil spokesperson Katherine d'Entremont said in an email statement that "the full ownership structure of Irving Oil is fully taxable in Canada."
And McInerney said that "our companies pay all taxes in Canada."
"All taxes" is a relative term for businesses using offshore tax havens, Loomer said.
"When you say, 'We are paying all the tax that we owe,' yes, that is likely true," he said. "It's just that you are ensuring that that amount is very low."
Higgs sees no policy change over Irving offshore revelations
Premier says company’s tax strategy is legal, so he won’t ban subsidies
Premier Blaine Higgs says he won't be making any policy changes after new details emerged about the Irving companies' use of offshore tax havens.
Higgs told reporters at the legislature that because the tax strategies used by the companies were legal, there are no grounds for banning them from receiving government grants, loans or other subsidies.
The premier said he'd cut off assistance for companies breaking the rules, "but I don't have any indication of that."
"I don't think we can criticize someone for following the rules."
Higgs was reacting to a year-long investigation by CBC News and Radio-Canada looking at the Irving presence in the offshore tax haven of Bermuda.
It revealed that J.D. Irving Ltd. used an insurance company on the island, F.M.A. Limited., to insure its marine vessels, paying premiums to the Bermuda entity, which then reinsured the vessels at a lower cost, allowing it to collect millions of dollars in profits tax-free.
University of Victoria tax law professor Geoffrey Loomer told CBC and Radio-Canada that the tax strategies were legal.
A year-long investigation by CBC News and Radio-Canada looked at the Irving presence in the offshore tax haven of Bermuda. (Mike Heenan/CBC)
In the legislature Thursday, Green MLA Kevin Arseneau acknowledged that's true but called for a "moratorium" on subsidies to Irving companies.
He also said J.D. Irving Ltd. should be called to testify at a legislative committee that would examine how much revenue the province has lost because of the company's tax strategy.
Finance Minister Ernie Steeves responded that the government wanted "all citizens to take advantage of what opportunities are out there. If you're from New Brunswick, we want you to take advantage of what is available to you in savings."
Higgs repeated that to reporters, saying everyone uses tax deductions to lower their tax bills as much as they can.
Finance
Minister Ernie Steeves said the government wanted 'all citizens to take
advantage of what opportunities are out there. If you’re from New
Brunswick, we want you to take advantage of what is available to you in
savings.' (Ed Hunter/CBC)
He said while large companies have "more capacity" to use specialized law firms and accountants skilled at using offshore tax havens, writing off a charitable donation on an individual tax return is "kind of the same process.
"Individuals will do it to the extent of the law, and companies will do the same thing to the extent of the law," he said.
Higgs, a former Irving Oil executive before getting into politics in 2010, said it was "extremely important to follow the regulations" when he worked at the company. His role was in operations, not accounting or taxation.
He and Steeves both pointed out that taxation of foreign assets is a federal responsibility. The premier said he was confident the Canada Revenue Agency would "monitor and measure and determine that the rules are being followed."
Steeves said two officials from his department are on a federal-provincial "tax avoidance working group," and Arseneau should work with the Liberals to lobby federal Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland to make any changes to tax laws.
Asked in the House of Commons about the Irving revelations Thursday, National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said the federal government has already made it "more and more difficult" to "hide" money overseas.
Liberal Leader Susan Holt avoided taking a clear position on whether Irving companies should lose access to public subsidies. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
In Fredericton, provincial Liberal Leader Susan Holt endorsed Arseneau's call for a committee to examine the issue.
"We should be making sure that New Brunswickers are all paying their fair share of tax and we have a system that people are participating in equally, so if there are loopholes and opportunities to close that we can act on and close, I think we should."
But Holt avoided taking a clear position on whether Irving companies should lose access to public subsidies.
"Folks who are receiving public funds should be fully participating in our public taxation system," she said.
Asked if using legal tax strategies amounted to not fully participating, Holt repeated her comment that the issue needs to be looked at.
Holt was CEO of the New Brunswick Business Council from 2011 to 2015, acting as spokesperson for the organization representing many of the province's largest employers.
She told reporters Thursday that during her tenure, J.D. Irving Ltd.'s membership in the council was not renewed because the company wanted to take "individual positions" on issues in their own business interest.
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"Asked in the House of Commons about the Irving revelations Thursday, National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said the federal government has already made it "more and more difficult" to "hide" money overseas.'
RE Money manager for ultra-rich has almost $5M tax bill, but CRA can't get its hands on assets I just called AGAIN and you did not pick up the phone this time Correct Zach?
Mendicino, Marco - M.P.<Marco.Mendicino@parl.gc.ca> | Mon, Apr 18, 2022 at 9:53 AM |
| To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | |
Reply | Reply to all | Forward | Print | Delete | Show original | |
Good Morning, Thank you for emailing the constituency office of the Hon. Marco Mendicino, MP for Eglinton-Lawrence. Can I ask what your address is, including your postal code? Regards, Office of the Hon. Marco Mendicino, P.C., M.P. Eglinton-Lawrence -----Original Message----- From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail. Sent: April 15, 2022 7:26 PM To: investigations@cbc.ca; zach.dubinsky <zach.dubinsky@cbc.ca>; tim.thompson@greenparty.ca; rudolf_neumayer@yahoo.ca; robmoorefundy@gmail.com; alaina@alainalockhart.ca; john.evans@gmail.com; connectingalbertcounty@gmail. Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>; fin.minfinance-financemin.fin <fin.minfinance-financemin. Subject: Re: RE Money manager for ultra-rich has almost $5M tax bill, but CRA can't get its hands on assets I just called AGAIN and you did not pick up the phone this time Correct Zach? I just got 2 more harassing calls from someone now using the number 416-526-4704 When I called the number back to see who the other victim was Harvey Cashore would not ID himself and pretended that he did not know who I was Yea Right | |
Higgs, Premier Blaine (PO/CPM)<Blaine.Higgs@gnb.ca> | Fri, Apr 15, 2022 at 8:25 PM |
| To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | |
Hello, Thank you for taking the time to write. Due to the volume of incoming messages, this is an automated response to let you know that your email has been received and will be reviewed at the earliest opportunity. If your inquiry more appropriately falls within the mandate of a Ministry or other area of government, staff will refer your email for review and consideration. Merci d'avoir pris le temps de nous écrire. En raison du volume des messages reçus, cette réponse automatique vous informe que votre courriel a été reçu et sera examiné dans les meilleurs délais. Si votre demande relève plutôt du mandat d'un ministère ou d'un autre secteur du gouvernement, le personnel vous renverra votre courriel pour examen et considération. If this is a Media Request, please contact the Premier’s office at (506) 453-2144 or by email S’il s’agit d’une demande des médias, veuillez communiquer avec le Cabinet du premier ministre au 506-453-2144. Office of the Premier/Cabinet du premier ministre P.O Box/C. P. 6000 Fredericton New-Brunswick/Nouveau- Tel./Tel. : (506) 453-2144 Email/Courriel: premier@gnb.ca/premier. | |
David Amos<david.raymond.amos333@gmail.com> | Mon, Apr 11, 2022 at 2:30 PM |
| To: "zach.dubinsky"<zach.dubinsky@cbc.ca>, "tim.thompson@greenparty.ca"<tim.thompson@greenparty.ca>, "rudolf_neumayer@yahoo.ca"<rudolf_neumayer@yahoo.ca>, "robmoorefundy@gmail.com"<robmoorefundy@gmail.com>, "alaina@alainalockhart.ca"<alaina@alainalockhart.ca>, "john.evans@gmail.com"<john.evans@gmail.com>, connectingalbertcounty@gmail.com, Harvey.Cashore@cbc.ca, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, "steve.murphy"<steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, "David.Akin"<David.Akin@globalnews.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca>, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>, "Katie.Telford"<Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, "Diane.Lebouthillier"<Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc.gc.ca>, ti-can@transparencycanada.ca | |
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https://www.cbc.ca/news/ Money manager for ultra-rich has almost $5M tax bill, but CRA can't get its hands on assets Agency fails to seize Toronto condo cash, while London flat hides behind offshore company Zach Dubinsky · CBC News · Posted: Apr 08, 2022 8:37 PM ET Charles Shaker, centre, made tabloid headlines in 2013 for buying a £330,000 ($500,000) round of champagne at the Billionaire Club in Monaco. At the time, the Canada Revenue Agency was pursuing him over a relatively modest tax bill that later grew to the millions of dollars. (Daily Star) He's a self-described money manager for the ultra-rich, with a penchant for pricey champagne and a personal wealth in the eight figures. But Charles Shaker also has a penchant for not paying his taxes, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) claims. And thanks to a lack of transparency — in tax havens but also in Canada — around who owns certain kinds of assets, it's proving hard for the CRA to do anything about it. Shaker, a British-Canadian financial adviser, made tabloid headlines in 2013 when he ordered a $500,000 round of choice bubbly for revellers at a Formula One party in Monaco. The incident was later featured in a CNBC show called The Filthy Rich Guide. A video of the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix party shows a procession of waiters bringing in bottles of brut — the biggest one was 30 litres — held high over their heads, sparklers crackling in hand. (YouTube) What the news stories didn't reveal is that around the same time, auditors in Ottawa were poring over his finances — in large part because his name was on a whistleblower's list of 130,000 people and entities with ties to confidential accounts at HSBC's private bank in Geneva. Shaker already had a relatively modest balance owing of $32,797 at that point, court records show. But after CRA accountants went back over his file, they issued the multimillionaire an updated tax bill for the hefty sum of $3.8 million in 2017. HSBC's private Swiss bank used by several Canadian billionaires Five years later, Shaker — who moved from the Ottawa area to England in 2009 and took up residency in Monaco around 2015 — hasn't paid, the CRA says in court filings. With interest, his bill now sits at more than $4.8 million. Court files show the CRA wrote to Charles Shaker earlier this year about his huge – and growing – tax bill, saying it could take action to seize his assets. (CBC) He says this is the first he's hearing of it, and he will contest the amount. "The CRA has not been in contact with me since the creation of the alleged reassessments giving rise to the purported tax debt," the 42-year-old said in a sworn statement filed in court. "The CRA has repeatedly made mistakes in sending out correspondence over the course of a number of years." CRA fails to nab penthouse proceeds The dispute is playing out in Federal Court. In early November, the government filed a motion to force Shaker's sometime lawyer, Chadwick Boyd of Ottawa, to provide information about a luxury downtown Toronto penthouse that had Boyd's, Shaker's and another man's name on the land title. If Shaker actually owned part of the condo, the CRA could go after it to recoup his tax debt. Weeks after the CRA tried, so far unsuccessfully, to get the records from Boyd, the penthouse and another one in downtown Toronto were put on the market. They both sold around New Year's — one went for $2.5 million, the other for $1.8 million — and closed two weeks ago. The online real estate listing for one of the penthouses shows a 2,200-square-foot, four-bedroom unit with floor to ceiling windows and views of Lake Ontario. (bhtours.ca) The CRA once again went to court, this time to get a cut of sale proceeds, arguing that Shaker had an interest in both properties that could be used toward his alleged $4.8 million in tax debts. But the government hit a snag — the penthouses were owned in trust, an arrangement where one or several people have legal ownership of an asset but only for the benefit of third parties. One of the condos was held by Shaker, Boyd and another man for the "Richie Rich Holdings Trust," the other for an entity called the "Vinyl Spin Investment Trust." PANDORA PAPERS Huge 'Pandora Papers' leak exposes secret offshore accounts of politicians, celebrities and billionaires Pandora Papers 5 big leaks of tax-haven records before the Pandora Papers Court records show the CRA had been trying to get Shaker and others to provide information about the trusts, and who the real beneficiaries were, since at least 2015, to no avail. Without that information, the agency couldn't prove Shaker was a beneficiary, and he himself said in a sworn statement he had no "personal interest whatsoever" in either property. So a judge refused to allow the CRA to touch the proceeds. "Mr. Shaker is a judgment debtor in his personal capacity and not in his capacity as a trustee of the RRH Trust," Federal Court Judge Elizabeth Walker ruled on March 24. "Trust property is not available to the creditors of a trustee where the debt in question is the trustee's personal debt." Ironically, she ordered the government to pay Shaker $12,000 for his legal costs. Pandora Papers leak reveals $4M flat in London The federal treasury will now have to look elsewhere for assets it can seize. But that could prove even more difficult than the government's doomed attempt to go after the Toronto condos. Records from a number of leaks of tax-haven financial data, shared with CBC News through its collaboration with the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, show Shaker at one point owned or was a director of several offshore companies in the British Virgin Islands and Barbados. He's in the Pandora Papers leak from last fall, where CBC News found his name on a BVI company called Branstead Ltd. Officially, that company has other people apparently serving as "nominees," or stand-ins who sign their names on paper as the directors and shareholders — as fronts for the real owner, essentially. The sole shareholder, on paper, is another corporation called Monet Investment Ltd., with an address in the Seychelles, according to the files in the Pandora Papers. But one of the leaked documents is a form dated 2017 from an offshore services provider called Trident Trust, declaring Shaker is the "beneficial," or actual, owner of Branstead Ltd. The company's declared activity is "property holding." A form dated 2017, found in the Pandora Papers leak (with some details redacted by CBC for privacy), is the only record of Charles Shaker’s ownership of an offshore company called Branstead Ltd. In its official registries, the company has what appear to be front people listed as its directors and shareholder. (CBC) It is legal in most jurisdictions, including Canada, to use nominee directors and shareholders, but it's often a tactic — especially in tax havens — to hide the people who truly control a company and its assets. Branstead Ltd., in turn, owns a penthouse apartment in the Canary Wharf area in London that was purchased in 2010 for the equivalent of $4 million, U.K. property records show. The CRA told CBC News that, in general, it could potentially use terms in Canada's tax treaty with Britain to try to recover a tax debt from someone living in England. Listen Pandora Papers reveal 'shadow economy' of the rich and powerful Without access to the Pandora Papers leak, though, the CRA would almost certainly not be able to make the link between Shaker and the multimillion-dollar London apartment. That's because Britain, like most of Canada, does not record the identities of the beneficial owners of property — the real owners behind layers of corporations or trusts — in its land registry. And the British Virgin Islands, like most of the world, doesn't require corporations to disclose who their real shareholders are. "[The CRA's] hands are tied because they simply don't have the tools to be following those assets around the world," said Kevin Comeau, a lawyer and expert on corporate transparency. Public registries would help CRA, lawyer says Comeau, alongside numerous transparency groups, has been advocating for years for countries and Canada's provinces to adopt beneficial-ownership registries that publicly record who the real owners are of land and of significant shareholdings in private companies. Not only would that help crack down on money-laundering, by potentially exposing where criminals or their known associates park ill-gotten gains, but in the tax arena, it could give revenue agencies like the CRA "much more information and an ability to trace those funds" of people who might not be paying their fair share, he said. Money laundering funded $5.3B in B.C. real estate purchases in 2018, report reveals British Columbia is the only jurisdiction in Canada with a beneficial ownership registry for property, implemented in the wake of findings of significant money-laundering in the province's real estate sector. Meanwhile, the federal government has pledged to implement one for corporations by the end of 2023, as part of the deal between the minority Liberals and the NDP. Shaker 'denies any allegation or implication' The CRA wouldn't comment on its legal spat with financial adviser Shaker, citing strict taxpayer confidentiality rules. But it said that in general, initiatives to promote transparency are "a positive step" to help enforce tax laws. "Having access to information on the true owners, beneficiaries, directing minds or related parties of an entity or asset better positions tax administrations around the world to tightening the net on those high net-worth individuals, corporations and entities who try to avoid paying their fair share of taxes," the CRA said in a statement. Shaker's British passport and Monaco residency card are among the leaked records in the Pandora Papers (edited by CBC for privacy). (CBC) CBC News sent a list of questions and preliminary research findings to Shaker and his lawyers — among them, the fact that his offshore company Branstead Ltd. appears to make use of nominee directors and shareholders, and that this would tend to frustrate the CRA's ability to collect on any tax debt he owes. They did not answer specific queries, but one of those lawyers replied broadly last week that Shaker "denies any allegation or implication set out in your list of questions" and that "he will continue to legally establish his case in the courts." Send tips on this or any other story to zach.dubinsky@cbc.ca or call 416-205-7553. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Zach Dubinsky Senior Writer, CBC Investigations Unit Zach Dubinsky is an investigative journalist. His reporting on offshore tax havens (including the Paradise Papers and Panama Papers), political corruption and organized crime has won multiple national and international awards. Phone: 416-205-7553. Twitter: @DubinskyZach Email zach.dubinsky@cbc.ca More by Zach Dubinsky Encrypted email key (PGP) With files from Radio-Canada's Frédéric Zalac CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail. Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2019 13:20:03 -0300 Subject: YO Harvey Cashore Diane.Lebouthillier's computer is still ethical Too bad so sad you are NOT but at least you let me know that the liberals settled with KPMG in secret before the writ was dropped To: "tim.thompson@greenparty.ca"<tim.thompson@greenparty.ca>, "rudolf_neumayer@yahoo.ca"<rudolf_neumayer@yahoo.ca>, "robmoorefundy@gmail.com"<robmoorefundy@gmail.com>, "alaina@alainalockhart.ca"<alaina@alainalockhart.ca>, "john.evans@gmail.com"<john.evans@gmail.com>, connectingalbertcounty@gmail. <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, "steve.murphy"<steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, "David.Akin"<David.Akin@globalnews.ca>, mcu <mcu@justice.gc.ca> Cc: motomaniac333 <motomaniac333@gmail.com>, "Gerald.Butts" <Gerald.Butts@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>, "Katie.Telford" <Katie.Telford@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, "Diane.Lebouthillier" <Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc. https://www.cbc.ca/news/ CRA signs secret settlement with wealthy KPMG clients involved in offshore tax scheme Watchdog group accuses the Liberals of covering up the KPMG affair Harvey Cashore · CBC News · Posted: May 30, 2019 12:26 PM ET Please send confidential tips on this story to Harvey.Cashore@cbc.ca or call 416-526-4704. Follow @harveycashore on Twitter. The Canada Revenue Agency has made an out-of-court settlement with wealthy KPMG clients caught using an offshore tax scheme that it previously said was 'intended to deceive' tax authorities. (Peter Scobie/CBC) "Most Liked Comment" Troy Bodi For the rest of us they'll hound you for months for that $16 you owe them. David Raymond Amso Reply to @Troy Bodi: Methinks the CRA and Harvey Cashore should have reviewed their emails by now particularly after I made a few calls as well N'esy Pas? Mo Bennett Reply to @David Amos: this is what happens when you put a former social worker in charge of money. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "Lebouthillier, Diane"<Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc. Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2019 15:40:59 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : The lawyer Rob Moore IS NOT IN THE GOVENMENT that oversees the CRA that deleted my SIN many years ago To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail. Merci d'avoir écrit à l'honorable Diane Lebouthillier, ministre du Revenu national. Votre courriel sera lu avec soin et recevra toute l'attention voulue. Si votre courriel porte sur une demande de rencontre ou une invitation à une activité particulière, nous tenons à vous assurer que votre demande a été notée et transmise à notre adjointe à l'agenda. *************************** Thank you for writing to the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, Minister of National Revenue. Your email will be read with care and will receive every consideration. If your email relates to a meeting request or an invitation to a specific event, please be assured that your request has been noted and sent to our scheduling assistant. ---------- Original message ---------- From: Media@pps-spp.parl.gc.ca Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2018 14:00:45 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Diane Lebouthillier if you wish to have the RCMP call me again about my email to Michael Snaauw et al Please make sure they don't lie to me next time To: motomaniac333@gmail.com Parliamentary Protective Service - MEDIA Thank you for your inquiry. Your e-mail has been automatically forwarded to a PPS Communications Representative for reply. Service de protection parlementaire - M?DIAS Merci pour votre demande. Votre courriel a ?t? automatiquement achemin? ? un repr?sentant des communications du SPP qui vous r?pondra d?s que possible. ---------- Original message ---------- From: KadeMarjorie.Remy@pps-spp. Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2018 14:00:46 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Diane Lebouthillier if you wish to have the RCMP call me again about my email to Michael Snaauw et al Please make sure they don't lie to me next time To: motomaniac333@gmail.com Bonjour. Veuillez noter que je suis absente du bureau. Pour toute question, vous pouvez vous adresser à Mme Isabelle Poulin : isabelle.poulin@pps-spp.parl. Merci et à bientôt. Kadé M. Rémy ---- Greetings. Please note that I am absent from the office. If you have any questions, you can contact Ms. Isabelle Poulin: isabelle.poulin@pps-spp.parl. Thank you. Kadé M. Rémy ---------- Original message ---------- From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> Date: Sat, 4 Aug 2018 08:13:57 -0400 Subject: ATTN Diane Lebouthillier if you wish to have the RCMP call me again about my email to Michael Snaauw et al Please make sure they don't lie to me next time To: leslie.maclean@servicecanada. Joshua.Larocque@servicecanada. jeanyves.duclos@hrsdc-rhdcc. Jean-Yves.Duclos.c1@parl.gc.ca Louise.Levonian@hrsdc-rhdcc. "Diane.Lebouthillier"<Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc. "Diane.Lebouthillier"<Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc. <gopublic@cbc.ca>, investigations <investigations@cbc.ca>, steven.blaney.a1@parl.gc.ca, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>, premier <premier@gnb.ca>, "justin.trudeau.a1"<justin.trudeau.a1@parl.gc.ca> "Gerald.Butts"<Gerald.Butts@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, "maxime.bernier" <maxime.bernier@parl.gc.ca>, "erin.otoole"<erin.otoole@parl.gc.ca>, "Kellie.Leitch"<Kellie.Leitch@parl.gc.ca>, PABMINMAILG@cra-arc.gc.ca, "andrew.scheer"<andrew.scheer@parl.gc.ca>, Geoff Regan <geoff@geoffregan.ca>, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, "victor.boudreau" <victor.boudreau@gnb.ca>, "Michael.Wernick" <Michael.Wernick@pco-bcp.gc.ca <jbosnitch@gmail.com>, "jan.jensen"<jan.jensen@justice.gc.ca>, "clare.barry"<clare.barry@justice.gc.ca>, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, news <news@kingscorecord.com> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> <Brenda.Lucki@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Larry.Tremblay" <Larry.Tremblay@rcmp-grc.gc.ca <Gilles.Blinn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Paul.Collister" <Paul.Collister@rcmp-grc.gc.ca <Mark.Blakely@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "Stephen.Horsman" <Stephen.Horsman@gnb.ca>, "hon.ralph.goodale" <hon.ralph.goodale@canada.ca>, oldmaison <oldmaison@yahoo.com>, "brian.gallant"<brian.gallant@gnb.ca>, "serge.rousselle" <serge.rousselle@gnb.ca>, "David.Akin"<David.Akin@globalnews.ca>, "Nathalie.Drouin"<Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca "Jody.Wilson-Raybould"<Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc. <mcu@justice.gc.ca> ---------- Original message ---------- From: Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc.ca Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:18:56 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today To: motomaniac333@gmail.com Merci d'avoir écrit à l'honorable Diane Lebouthillier, députée de Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Votre courriel sera lu avec soin et recevra toute l'attention voulue. Si votre courriel porte sur une demande ou un commentaire concernant l'Agence du Revenu du Canada (ARC), sachez que votre correspondance a été acheminée au cabinet de la ministre du Revenu national. Toute l'attention nécessaire y sera accordée et le suivi approprié sera effectué par son cabinet dans les meilleurs délais. Si votre courriel porte sur une demande de rencontre ou une invitation à une activité particulière, nous tenons à vous assurer que votre demande a été notée et transmise à notre adjointe à l'agenda. *************************** Thank you for writing to the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier, member of parliament for Gaspésie-Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Your email will be read with care and will receive every consideration. If your email is about a concern or a comment related to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), please note that your correspondence has been forwarded to the Office of the Minister of National Revenue. Your email is receiving necessary consideration and the appropriate follow-up will be made by the Minister's Office as soon as possible. If your email relates to a meeting request or an invitation to a specific event, please be assured that your request has been noted and sent to our scheduling assistant. ---------- Original message ---------- From: Jean-Yves.Duclos.C1@parl.gc.ca Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:18:56 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today To: motomaniac333@gmail.com Bonjour Monsieur, Madame, C'est avec un grand plaisir que je vous annonce l'arrivée prochaine de mon premier enfant. La naissance étant prévue pour le mois de juin, je m'absenterai donc à compter du 28 mai 2018 au 14 décembre 2018. Je vous remercie d'en prendre note et vous prie de contacter en cas de besoin, ma collègue, Émélie Soucy, qui assura mes suivis pendant mon absence. vous pouvez la rejoindre par téléphone au 418-523-6666 ou par courriel au Jean-yves.duclos.a1@parl.gc.ca Dans l'attente de vous lire, je vous prie de croire, Monsieur, Madame, en l'expression de mes salutations les meilleures. Émilie Gagné Coordonnatrice de circonscription Bureau de l'hon. Jean-Yves Duclos Député de Québec 600, boul. Charest Est Bureau 201, C.P. 30014 Québec (Québec) G1K 3J4 T. 418 523-6666 Jean-Yves.Duclos.c1@parl.gc.ca https://www.facebook.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ Émilie Gagné Coordonnatrice de circonscription Bureau de l'hon. Jean-Yves Duclos Député de Québec 600, boul. Charest Est Bureau 201, C.P. 30014 Québec (Québec) G1K 3J4 T. 418 523-6666 Jean-Yves.Duclos.c1@parl.gc.ca https://www.facebook.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ ---------- Original message ---------- From: steven.blaney.a1@parl.gc.ca Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:18:56 +0000 Subject: Réponse automatique : ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today To: motomaniac333@gmail.com Je serai absent du bureau du 26 julliet au 7 aout. Si votre message est urgent svp contactez notre bureau de circonscription ou envoyez-moi un e-mail à fioraniettore29@gmail.com. Merci. I will be out of the office from July 26 to AUGUST 7. If your message is urgent please contact our riding office or contact me at fioraniettore29@gmail.com. Thank you. ---------- Original message ---------- From: pierre.poilievre.a1@parl.gc.ca Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:18:56 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today To: motomaniac333@gmail.com Thank you for your email. I will be out of the office from August 1-August 17th. If this is an urgent matter, please call 613-992-2772 or email pierre.poilievre.a2@parl.gc.ca Manjit ---------- Original message ---------- From: "Barry, Clare"<Clare.Barry@justice.gc.ca> Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:17:31 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> Je serai absente du bureau le 3 aout 2018. Dans mon absence, veuillez contactez Ginette Mazerolle ou Sam Boorman dans notre bureau regional. I will be away from the office on Friday, August 3, 2018 inclusive. In my absence, kindly contact Ginette Mazerolle or Sam Boorman of the Atlantic Regional Office. ---------- Original message ---------- From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com> Date: Thu, 2 Aug 2018 19:17:43 +0000 Subject: Automatic reply: ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail. If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical support, please contact our Customer Service department at 1-800-387-5400 or send an email to customerservice@globeandmail. If you are reporting a factual error please forward your email to publiceditor@globeandmail.com< Letters to the Editor can be sent to letters@globeandmail.com This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and press releases. On 8/2/18, David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> wrote: > http://www.goc411.ca/en/65655/ > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2017 12:37:50 -0400 > Subject: YO Jean-Yves Duclos Re My Old Age pension etc I just made my > last calls your people at (613) 957-1954, 613-992-8865, (819 654 > 5546), (819) 654 5754 and (819) 654 7047 before I file my lawsuit > against you and the Crown > To: jeanyves.duclos@hrsdc-rhdcc. > Jean-Yves.Duclos.c1@parl.gc.ca > <judy.foote.a1@parl.gc.ca>, media@hrsdc-rhdcc.gc.ca, > Louise.Levonian@hrsdc-rhdcc. > "Diane.Lebouthillier"<Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc. > "Diane.Lebouthillier"<Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc. > <gopublic@cbc.ca>, investigations <investigations@cbc.ca>, > steven.blaney.a1@parl.gc.ca, pm <pm@pm.gc.ca>, premier > <premier@gnb.ca>, "justin.trudeau.a1"<justin.trudeau.a1@parl.gc.ca> > "Gerald.Butts"<Gerald.Butts@pmo-cpm.gc.ca>, "maxime.bernier" > <maxime.bernier@parl.gc.ca>, "erin.otoole"<erin.otoole@parl.gc.ca>, > "Kellie.Leitch"<Kellie.Leitch@parl.gc.ca>, PABMINMAILG@cra-arc.gc.ca, > "andrew.scheer"<andrew.scheer@parl.gc.ca>, Geoff Regan > <geoff@geoffregan.ca>, PREMIER <PREMIER@gov.ns.ca>, "victor.boudreau" > <victor.boudreau@gnb.ca>, "Michael.Wernick" > <Michael.Wernick@pco-bcp.gc.ca > <jbosnitch@gmail.com> > Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> > leslie.maclean@servicecanada. > <harvey.cashore@cbc.ca>, "Gilles.Blinn"<Gilles.Blinn@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, > "Larry.Tremblay"<Larry.Tremblay@rcmp-grc.gc.ca > > http://www.canadianlawlist. > > Employment and Social Development Canada > 140 Promenade du Portage > Gatineau, Québec K1A 0J9 > Phone: 819-994-7976 > Fax: 819-953-5603 > > Listed Individuals > Jean-Yves Duclos > Patty Hajdu > Louise Levonian > Carla Qualtrough > Lori R. Sterling > > ---------- Original message ---------- > From: Diane.Lebouthillier@parl.gc.ca > Date: Fri, 26 May 2017 22:23:12 +0000 > Subject: Réponse automatique : YO Jean-Yves Duclos Re My Old Age > pension etc Well May 24th came and went and I just called you (819 654 > 5546) and your Deputy Ms Levonian (819 953 5603) about my right to to > sue you and your minions in Federal Court > To: motomaniac333@gmail.com > > Merci d'avoir écrit à l'honorable Diane Lebouthillier, députée de > Gaspésie - Îles-de-la-Madeleine. Votre courriel recevra toute > l'attention voulue. > > Thank you for writing to the Hon. Diane Lebouthillier, Member of > Parliament for Gaspésie - îles-de-la-Madeleine. Please be assured that > your correspondence will receive every consideration. > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2017 11:03:05 -0400 > Subject: Fwd. YO Minister Jean-Yves.Duclos Once again you are welcome > Now how about the RCMP, the LIEbranos and all the other > parliamentarians start acting with some semblance of Integrity after > all these years? > To: nicole.bruni@bakermckenzie.com > <bill.pentney@justice.gc.ca>, "rona.ambrose" > <rona.ambrose@parl.gc.ca>, "Jody.Wilson-Raybould" > <Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc. > <jan.jensen@justice.gc.ca>, "Dale.Morgan" > <Dale.Morgan@rcmp-grc.gc.ca>, "dale.drummond" > <dale.drummond@rcmp-grc.gc.ca> > <Paul.Lynch@edmontonpolice.ca> > Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> > <Michael.Duheme@rcmp-grc.gc.ca > <michael.chong@parl.gc.ca>, michael <michael@frankmagazine.ca> > > ---------- Original message ---------- > From: "MacKay, Peter"<Peter.MacKay@bakermckenzie. > Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2017 14:39:17 +0000 > Subject: Automatic reply: YO Minister Jean-Yves.Duclos Once again you > are welcome Now how about the RCMP, the LIEbranos and all the other > parliamentarians start acting with some semblance of Integrity after > all these years? > To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > > Thank you for your email. I am currently out of the office attending > meetings and have limited access to email and voicemail. If your > matter is urgent, or if you require assistance, please contact my > assistant, Nicole Bruni at nicole.bruni@bakermckenzie.com or at (416) > 865-3861. > > > This message may contain confidential and privileged information. If > it has been sent to you in error, please reply to advise the sender of > the error and then immediately delete this message. Please visit > www.bakermckenzie.com/ > concerning this message. > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > Date: Tue, 31 Jul 2018 18:40:41 -0400 > Subject: ATTN Michael Snaauw I called you and a lot of your pals today > To: Michael.Snaauw@cra-arc.gc.ca, pierre.corbin@cra-arc.gc.ca, > ciat@ciat.org, tax@americanbar.org, drewacummings@gmail.com, > matthewscottcooper@gmail.com, sophia.siddiqui@usdoj.gov, > marissa.k.rensen@irscounsel. > andrewjohnbrewster@gmail.com, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>, > "harvey.cashore"<harvey.cashore@cbc.ca> > Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> > william.m.paul@irscounsel. > "Ted.Gallivan"<Ted.Gallivan@cra-arc.gc.ca>, > Charles.Nadeau@cra-arc.gc.ca, Richard.Gobeil@cra-arc.gc.ca, > Keith.Barrass@cra-arc.gc.ca > > https://www.irs.gov/about-irs/ > > https://www.americanbar.org/ > > http://www.fedbar.org/ > > https://www.ciat.org/ > > https://www.canada.ca/en/ > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > Date: Fri, 27 Jul 2018 13:49:13 -0400 > Subject: Attn Commissioner of Revenue Bob Hamilton I just called Best > you start lining up your lawyers ASAP EH? > To: bob.hamilton@canada.ca, "Diane.Lebouthillier" > <Diane.Lebouthillier@cra-arc. > <j.Russell.George@tigta.treas. > "Jean-Yves.Duclos"<Jean-Yves.Duclos@parl.gc.ca> > Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos@gmail.com> > <Nathalie.Drouin@justice.gc.ca > > Bob Hamilton > Commissioner of Revenue and Chief Executive Officer of the CRA > Telephone Number 613-957-3688 > Email bob.hamilton@canada.ca > > Perhaps I will run into somebody ethical some day but I bet the > Yankees know that they won't work for any government. N'esy Pas > George J Russell and Mikey Cohen? > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Ministre / Minister (SPAC/PSPC)" > <TPSGC.Ministre-Minister. > Date: Tue, 24 Jul 2018 10:56:46 -0400 > Subject: Accusé réception / Acknowledgement > To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > > Le présent message accuse réception de votre courriel au ministre des > Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement. Soyez assuré(e) que nous y > accorderons toute l'attention voulue. > > Merci de votre intérêt. > ______________________________ > > This message is to acknowledge receipt of your email to the Minister > of the Public Services and Procurement. Please be assured it will be > given every consideration. > > Thank you for your interest. > > http://davidraymondamos3. > > Tuesday, 14 February 2017 > > RE FATCA, NAFTA & TPP etc ATTN President Donald J. Trump I just got > off the phone with your lawyer Mr Cohen (646-853-0114) Why does he lie > to me after all this time??? > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Michael Cohen <mcohen@trumporg.com> > Date: Tue, 14 Feb 2017 14:15:14 +0000 > Subject: Automatic reply: RE FATCA ATTN Pierre-Luc.Dusseault I just > called and left a message for you > To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > > Effective January 20, 2017, I have accepted the role as personal > counsel to President Donald J. Trump. All future emails should be > directed to mdcohen212@gmail.com and all future calls should be > directed to 646-853-0114. > ______________________________ > This communication is from The Trump Organization or an affiliate > thereof and is not sent on behalf of any other individual or entity. > This email may contain information that is confidential and/or > proprietary. Such information may not be read, disclosed, used, > copied, distributed or disseminated except (1) for use by the intended > recipient or (2) as expressly authorized by the sender. If you have > received this communication in error, please immediately delete it and > promptly notify the sender. E-mail transmission cannot be guaranteed > to be received, secure or error-free as emails could be intercepted, > corrupted, lost, destroyed, arrive late, incomplete, contain viruses > or otherwise. The Trump Organization and its affiliates do not > guarantee that all emails will be read and do not accept liability for > any errors or omissions in emails. Any views or opinions presented in > any email are solely those of the author and do not necessarily > represent those of The Trump Organization or any of its > affiliates.Nothing in this communication is intended to operate as an > electronic signature under applicable law. > > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Min.Mail / Courrier.Min (CRA/ARC)"<PABMINMAILG@cra-arc.gc.ca> > Date: Wed, 24 May 2017 13:10:52 +0000 > Subject: Your various correspondence about abusive tax schemes - 2017-02631 > To: "motomaniac333@gmail.com"<motomaniac333@gmail.com> > > Mr. David Raymond Amos > motomaniac333@gmail.com > > > Dear Mr. Amos: > > Thank you for your various correspondence about abusive tax schemes, > and for your understanding regarding the delay of this response. > > This is an opportunity for me to address your concerns about the way > the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) deals with aggressive tax planning, > tax avoidance, and tax evasion by targeting individuals and groups > that promote schemes intended to avoid payment of tax. It is also an > opportunity for me to present the Government of Canada’s main > strategies for ensuring fairness for all taxpayers. > > The CRA’s mission is to preserve the integrity of Canada’s tax system, > and it is taking concrete and effective action to deal with abusive > tax schemes. Through federal budget funding in 2016 and 2017, the > government has committed close to $1 billion in cracking down on tax > evasion and combatting tax avoidance at home and through the use of > offshore transactions. This additional funding is expected to generate > federal revenues of $2.6 billion over five years for Budget 2016, and > $2.5 billion over five years for Budget 2017. > > More precisely, the CRA is cracking down on tax cheats by hiring more > auditors, maintaining its underground economy specialist teams, > increasing coverage of aggressive goods and service tax/harmonized > sales tax planning, increasing coverage of multinational corporations > and wealthy individuals, and taking targeted actions aimed at > promoters of abusive tax schemes. > > On the offshore front, the CRA continues to develop tools to improve > its focus on high‑risk taxpayers. It is also considering changes to > its Voluntary Disclosures Program following the first set of program > recommendations received from an independent Offshore Compliance > Advisory Committee. In addition, the CRA is leading international > projects to address the base erosion and profit shifting initiative of > the G20 and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and > Development, and is collaborating with treaty partners to address the > Panama Papers leaks. > > These actions are evidence of the government’s commitment to > protecting tax fairness. The CRA has strengthened its intelligence and > technical capacities for the early detection of abusive tax > arrangements and deterrence of those who participate in them. To > ensure compliance, it has increased the number of actions aimed at > promoters who use illegal schemes. These measures include increased > audits of such promoters, improved information gathering, criminal > investigations where warranted, and better communication with > taxpayers. > > To deter potential taxpayer involvement in these schemes, the CRA is > increasing notifications and warnings through its communications > products. It also seeks partnerships with tax preparers, accountants, > and community groups so that they can become informed observers who > can educate their clients. > > The CRA will assess penalties against promoters and other > representatives who make false statements involving illegal tax > schemes. The promotion of tax schemes to defraud the government can > lead to criminal investigations, fingerprinting, criminal prosecution, > court fines, and jail time. > > Between April 1, 2011, and March 31, 2016, the CRA’s criminal > investigations resulted in the conviction of 42 Canadian taxpayers for > tax evasion with links to money and assets held offshore. In total, > the $34 million in evaded taxes resulted in court fines of $12 million > and 734 months of jail time. > > When deciding to pursue compliance actions through the courts, the CRA > consults the Department of Justice Canada to choose an appropriate > solution. Complex tax-related litigation is costly and time consuming, > and the outcome may be unsuccessful. All options to recover amounts > owed are considered. > > More specifically, in relation to the KPMG Isle of Man tax avoidance > scheme, publicly available court records show that it is through the > CRA’s efforts that the scheme was discovered. The CRA identified many > of the participants and continues to actively pursue the matter. The > CRA has also identified at least 10 additional tax structures on the > Isle of Man, and is auditing taxpayers in relation to these > structures. > > To ensure tax fairness, the CRA commissioned an independent review in > March 2016 to determine if it had acted appropriately concerning KPMG > and its clients. In her review, Ms. Kimberley Brooks, Associate > Professor and former Dean of the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie > University, examined the CRA’s operational processes and decisions in > relation to the KPMG offshore tax structure and its efforts to obtain > the names of all taxpayers participating in the scheme. Following this > review, the report, released on May 5, 2016, concluded that the CRA > had acted appropriately in its management of the KPMG Isle of Man > file. The report found that the series of compliance measures the CRA > took were in accordance with its policies and procedures. It was > concluded that the procedural actions taken on the KPMG file were > appropriate given the facts of this particular case and were > consistent with the treatment of taxpayers in similar situations. The > report concluded that actions by CRA employees were in accordance with > the CRA’s Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct. There was no > evidence of inappropriate interaction between KPMG and the CRA > employees involved in the case. > > Under the CRA’s Code of Integrity and Professional Conduct, all CRA > employees are responsible for real, apparent, or potential conflicts > of interests between their current duties and any subsequent > employment outside of the CRA or the Public Service of Canada. > Consequences and corrective measures play an important role in > protecting the CRA’s integrity. > > The CRA takes misconduct very seriously. The consequences of > misconduct depend on the gravity of the incident and its repercussions > on trust both within and outside of the CRA. Misconduct can result in > disciplinary measures up to dismissal. > > All forms of tax evasion are illegal. The CRA manages the Informant > Leads Program, which handles leads received from the public regarding > cases of tax evasion across the country. This program, which > coordinates all the leads the CRA receives from informants, determines > whether there has been any non-compliance with tax law and ensures > that the information is examined and conveyed, if applicable, so that > compliance measures are taken. This program does not offer any reward > for tips received. > > The new Offshore Tax Informant Program (OTIP) has also been put in > place. The OTIP offers financial compensation to individuals who > provide information related to major cases of offshore tax evasion > that lead to the collection of tax owing. As of December 31, 2016, the > OTIP had received 963 calls and 407 written submissions from possible > informants. Over 218 taxpayers are currently under audit based on > information the CRA received through the OTIP. > > With a focus on the highest-risk sectors nationally and > internationally and an increased ability to gather information, the > CRA has the means to target taxpayers who try to hide their income. > For example, since January 2015, the CRA has been collecting > information on all international electronic funds transfers (EFTs) of > $10,000 or more ending or originating in Canada. It is also adopting a > proactive approach by focusing each year on four jurisdictions that > raise suspicion. For the Isle of Man, the CRA audited 3,000 EFTs > totalling $860 million over 12 months and involving approximately 800 > taxpayers. Based on these audits, the CRA communicated with > approximately 350 individuals and 400 corporations and performed 60 > audits. > > In January 2017, I reaffirmed Canada’s important role as a leader for > tax authorities around the world in detecting the structures used for > aggressive tax planning and tax evasion. This is why Canada works > daily with the Joint International Tax Shelter Information Centre > (JITSIC), a network of tax administrations in over 35 countries. The > CRA participates in two expert groups within the JITSIC and leads the > working group on intermediaries and proponents. This ongoing > collaboration is a key component of the CRA’s work to develop strong > relationships with the international community, which will help it > refine the world-class tax system that benefits all Canadians. > > The CRA is increasing its efforts and is seeing early signs of > success. Last year, the CRA recovered just under $13 billion as a > result of its audit activities on the domestic and offshore fronts. > Two-thirds of these recoveries are the result of its audit efforts > relating to large businesses and multinational companies. > > But there is still much to do, and additional improvements and > investments are underway. > > Tax cheats are having a harder and harder time hiding. Taxpayers who > choose to promote or participate in malicious and illegal tax > strategies must face the consequences of their actions. Canadians > expect nothing less. I invite you to read my most recent statement on > this matter at canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/ > statement_from_ > > Thank you for taking the time to write. I hope the information I have > provided is helpful. > > Sincerely, > > > The Honourable Diane Lebouthillier > Minister of National Revenue > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Jody.Wilson-Raybould@parl.gc. > Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2018 23:36:35 +0000 > Subject: Automatic reply: NATA and "Litigation Lmbo" with Trump and > his buddies in the WTO > To: motomaniac333@gmail.com > > Thank you for writing to the Honourable Jody Wilson-Raybould, Member > of Parliament for Vancouver Granville. > > This message is to acknowledge that we are in receipt of your email. > Due to the significant increase in the volume of correspondence, there > may be a delay in processing your email. Rest assured that your > message will be carefully reviewed. > > To help us address your concerns more quickly, please include within > the body of your email your full name, address, and postal code. > > Please note that your message will be forwarded to the Department of > Justice if it concerns topics pertaining to the member's role as the > Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. For all future > correspondence addressed to the Minister of Justice, please write > directly to the Department of Justice at > mcu@justice.gc.ca<mailto:mcu@ > > Thank you > > ------------------- > > Merci d'?crire ? l'honorable Jody Wilson-Raybould, d?put?e de > Vancouver Granville. > > Le pr?sent message vise ? vous informer que nous avons re?u votre > courriel. En raison d'une augmentation importante du volume de > correspondance, il pourrait y avoir un retard dans le traitement de > votre courriel. Sachez que votre message sera examin? attentivement. > > Pour nous aider ? r?pondre ? vos pr?occupations plus rapidement, > veuillez inclure dans le corps de votre courriel votre nom complet, > votre adresse et votre code postal. > > Veuillez prendre note que votre message sera transmis au minist?re de > la Justice s'il porte sur des sujets qui rel?vent du r?le de la > d?put?e en tant que ministre de la Justice et procureure g?n?rale du > Canada. Pour toute correspondance future adress?e ? la ministre de la > Justice, veuillez ?crire directement au minist?re de la Justice ? > mcu@justice.gc.ca ou appelez au 613-957-4222. > > Merci > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Brian Gallant <briangallant10@gmail.com> > Date: Sun, 22 Jul 2018 16:49:18 -0700 > Subject: Merci / Thank you Re: Fwd: NAFTA and "Litigation Lmbo" with > Trump and his buddies in the WTO > To: motomaniac333@gmail.com > > (Français à suivre) > > If your email is pertaining to the Government of New Brunswick, please > email me at brian.gallant@gnb.ca > > If your matter is urgent, please email Greg Byrne at greg.byrne@gnb.ca > > Thank you. > > Si votre courriel s'addresse au Gouvernement du Nouveau-Brunswick, > svp m'envoyez un courriel à brian.gallant@gnb.ca > > Pour les urgences, veuillez contacter Greg Byrne à greg.byrne@gnb.ca > > Merci. > > > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: "Gallant, Premier Brian (PO/CPM)"<Brian.Gallant@gnb.ca> > Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2016 17:05:07 +0000 > Subject: RE: So what does Premier Gallant and Minister Doucet et al > think of my lawsuit? How about David Coon and his blogging buddy > Chucky joking about being illegally barred from parliamentary property > To: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> > > Thank you for writing to the Premier of New Brunswick. > Please be assured that your email has been received, will be reviewed, > and a response will be forthcoming. > Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. > > Merci d'avoir communiqué avec le premier ministre du Nouveau-Brunswick. > Soyez assuré que votre courriel a bien été reçu, qu'il sera examiné > et qu'une réponse vous sera acheminée. > Merci encore d'avoir pris de temps de nous écrire. > > Sincerely, / Sincèrement, > Mallory Fowler > Correspondence Manager / Gestionnaire de la correspondance > Office of the Premier / Cabinet du premier ministre > > > On 1/19/18, David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> wrote: > >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>> Date: Mon, 12 Jun 2017 09:32:09 -0400 >>> Subject: Attn Integrity Commissioner Alexandre Deschênes, Q.C., >>> To: coi@gnb.ca >>> Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com >>> >>> Good Day Sir >>> >>> After I heard you speak on CBC I called your office again and managed >>> to speak to one of your staff for the first time >>> >>> Please find attached the documents I promised to send to the lady who >>> answered the phone this morning. Please notice that not after the Sgt >>> at Arms took the documents destined to your office his pal Tanker >>> Malley barred me in writing with an "English" only document. >>> >>> These are the hearings and the dockets in Federal Court that I >>> suggested that you study closely. >>> >>> This is the docket in Federal Court >>> >>> http://cas-cdc-www02.cas-satj. >>> >>> These are digital recordings of the last three hearings >>> >>> Dec 14th https://archive.org/details/ >>> >>> January 11th, 2016 https://archive.org/details/ >>> >>> April 3rd, 2017 >>> >>> https://archive.org/details/ >>> >>> >>> This is the docket in the Federal Court of Appeal >>> >>> http://cas-cdc-www02.cas-satj. >>> >>> >>> The only hearing thus far >>> >>> May 24th, 2017 >>> >>> https://archive.org/details/ >>> >>> >>> This Judge understnds the meaning of the word Integrity >>> >>> Date: 20151223 >>> >>> Docket: T-1557-15 >>> >>> Fredericton, New Brunswick, December 23, 2015 >>> >>> PRESENT: The Honourable Mr. Justice Bell >>> >>> BETWEEN: >>> >>> DAVID RAYMOND AMOS >>> >>> Plaintiff >>> >>> and >>> >>> HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN >>> >>> Defendant >>> >>> ORDER >>> >>> (Delivered orally from the Bench in Fredericton, New Brunswick, on >>> December 14, 2015) >>> >>> The Plaintiff seeks an appeal de novo, by way of motion pursuant to >>> the Federal Courts Rules (SOR/98-106), from an Order made on November >>> 12, 2015, in which Prothonotary Morneau struck the Statement of Claim >>> in its entirety. >>> >>> At the outset of the hearing, the Plaintiff brought to my attention a >>> letter dated September 10, 2004, which he sent to me, in my then >>> capacity as Past President of the New Brunswick Branch of the Canadian >>> Bar Association, and the then President of the Branch, Kathleen Quigg, >>> (now a Justice of the New Brunswick Court of Appeal). In that letter >>> he stated: >>> >>> As for your past President, Mr. Bell, may I suggest that you check the >>> work of Frank McKenna before I sue your entire law firm including you. >>> You are your brother’s keeper. >>> >>> Frank McKenna is the former Premier of New Brunswick and a former >>> colleague of mine at the law firm of McInnes Cooper. In addition to >>> expressing an intention to sue me, the Plaintiff refers to a number of >>> people in his Motion Record who he appears to contend may be witnesses >>> or potential parties to be added. Those individuals who are known to >>> me personally, include, but are not limited to the former Prime >>> Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable Stephen Harper; former >>> Attorney General of Canada and now a Justice of the Manitoba Court of >>> Queen’s Bench, Vic Toews; former member of Parliament Rob Moore; >>> former Director of Policing Services, the late Grant Garneau; former >>> Chief of the Fredericton Police Force, Barry McKnight; former Staff >>> Sergeant Danny Copp; my former colleagues on the New Brunswick Court >>> of Appeal, Justices Bradley V. Green and Kathleen Quigg, and, retired >>> Assistant Commissioner Wayne Lang of the Royal Canadian Mounted >>> Police. >>> >>> In the circumstances, given the threat in 2004 to sue me in my >>> personal capacity and my past and present relationship with many >>> potential witnesses and/or potential parties to the litigation, I am >>> of the view there would be a reasonable apprehension of bias should I >>> hear this motion. See Justice de Grandpré’s dissenting judgment in >>> Committee for Justice and Liberty et al v National Energy Board et al, >>> [1978] 1 SCR 369 at p 394 for the applicable test regarding >>> allegations of bias. In the circumstances, although neither party has >>> requested I recuse myself, I consider it appropriate that I do so. >>> >>> >>> AS A RESULT OF MY RECUSAL, THIS COURT ORDERS that the Administrator of >>> the Court schedule another date for the hearing of the motion. There >>> is no order as to costs. >>> >>> “B. Richard Bell” >>> Judge >>> >>> >>> Below after the CBC article about your concerns (I made one comment >>> already) you will find the text of just two of many emails I had sent >>> to your office over the years since I first visited it in 2006. >>> >>> I noticed that on July 30, 2009, he was appointed to the the Court >>> Martial Appeal Court of Canada Perhaps you should scroll to the >>> bottom of this email ASAP and read the entire Paragraph 83 of my >>> lawsuit now before the Federal Court of Canada? >>> >>> "FYI This is the text of the lawsuit that should interest Trudeau the >>> most >>> >>> >>> ---------- Original message ---------- >>> From: justin.trudeau.a1@parl.gc.ca >>> Date: Thu, Oct 22, 2015 at 8:18 PM >>> Subject: Réponse automatique : RE My complaint against the CROWN in >>> Federal Court Attn David Hansen and Peter MacKay If you planning to >>> submit a motion for a publication ban on my complaint trust that you >>> dudes are way past too late >>> To: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com >>> >>> Veuillez noter que j'ai changé de courriel. Vous pouvez me rejoindre à >>> lalanthier@hotmail.com >>> >>> Pour rejoindre le bureau de M. Trudeau veuillez envoyer un courriel à >>> tommy.desfosses@parl.gc.ca >>> >>> Please note that I changed email address, you can reach me at >>> lalanthier@hotmail.com >>> >>> To reach the office of Mr. Trudeau please send an email to >>> tommy.desfosses@parl.gc.ca >>> >>> Thank you, >>> >>> Merci , >>> >>> >>> http://davidraymondamos3. >>> >>> >>> 83. The Plaintiff states that now that Canada is involved in more war >>> in Iraq again it did not serve Canadian interests and reputation to >>> allow Barry Winters to publish the following words three times over >>> five years after he began his bragging: >>> >>> January 13, 2015 >>> This Is Just AS Relevant Now As When I wrote It During The Debate >>> >>> December 8, 2014 >>> Why Canada Stood Tall! >>> >>> Friday, October 3, 2014 >>> Little David Amos’ “True History Of War” Canadian Airstrikes And >>> Stupid Justin Trudeau >>> >>> Canada’s and Canadians free ride is over. Canada can no longer hide >>> behind Amerka’s and NATO’s skirts. >>> >>> When I was still in Canadian Forces then Prime Minister Jean Chretien >>> actually committed the Canadian Army to deploy in the second campaign >>> in Iraq, the Coalition of the Willing. This was against or contrary to >>> the wisdom or advice of those of us Canadian officers that were >>> involved in the initial planning phases of that operation. There were >>> significant concern in our planning cell, and NDHQ about of the dearth >>> of concern for operational guidance, direction, and forces for >>> operations after the initial occupation of Iraq. At the “last minute” >>> Prime Minister Chretien and the Liberal government changed its mind. >>> The Canadian government told our amerkan cousins that we would not >>> deploy combat troops for the Iraq campaign, but would deploy a >>> Canadian Battle Group to Afghanistan, enabling our amerkan cousins to >>> redeploy troops from there to Iraq. The PMO’s thinking that it was >>> less costly to deploy Canadian Forces to Afghanistan than Iraq. But >>> alas no one seems to remind the Liberals of Prime Minister Chretien’s >>> then grossly incorrect assumption. Notwithstanding Jean Chretien’s >>> incompetence and stupidity, the Canadian Army was heroic, >>> professional, punched well above it’s weight, and the PPCLI Battle >>> Group, is credited with “saving Afghanistan” during the Panjway >>> campaign of 2006. >>> >>> What Justin Trudeau and the Liberals don’t tell you now, is that then >>> Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chretien committed, and deployed the >>> Canadian army to Canada’s longest “war” without the advice, consent, >>> support, or vote of the Canadian Parliament. >>> >>> What David Amos and the rest of the ignorant, uneducated, and babbling >>> chattering classes are too addled to understand is the deployment of >>> less than 75 special operations troops, and what is known by planners >>> as a “six pac cell” of fighter aircraft is NOT the same as a >>> deployment of a Battle Group, nor a “war” make. >>> >>> The Canadian Government or The Crown unlike our amerkan cousins have >>> the “constitutional authority” to commit the Canadian nation to war. >>> That has been recently clearly articulated to the Canadian public by >>> constitutional scholar Phillippe Legasse. What Parliament can do is >>> remove “confidence” in The Crown’s Government in a “vote of >>> non-confidence.” That could not happen to the Chretien Government >>> regarding deployment to Afghanistan, and it won’t happen in this >>> instance with the conservative majority in The Commons regarding a >>> limited Canadian deployment to the Middle East. >>> >>> President George Bush was quite correct after 911 and the terror >>> attacks in New York; that the Taliban “occupied” and “failed state” >>> Afghanistan was the source of logistical support, command and control, >>> and training for the Al Quaeda war of terror against the world. The >>> initial defeat, and removal from control of Afghanistan was vital and >>> >>> P.S. Whereas this CBC article is about your opinion of the actions of >>> the latest Minister Of Health trust that Mr Boudreau and the CBC have >>> had my files for many years and the last thing they are is ethical. >>> Ask his friends Mr Murphy and the RCMP if you don't believe me. >>> >>> Subject: >>> Date: Tue, 30 Jan 2007 12:02:35 -0400 >>> From: "Murphy, Michael B. \(DH/MS\)"MichaelB.Murphy@gnb.ca >>> To: motomaniac_02186@yahoo.com >>> >>> January 30, 2007 >>> >>> WITHOUT PREJUDICE >>> >>> Mr. David Amos >>> >>> Dear Mr. Amos: >>> >>> This will acknowledge receipt of a copy of your e-mail of December 29, >>> 2006 to Corporal Warren McBeath of the RCMP. >>> >>> Because of the nature of the allegations made in your message, I have >>> taken the measure of forwarding a copy to Assistant Commissioner Steve >>> Graham of the RCMP “J” Division in Fredericton. >>> >>> Sincerely, >>> >>> Honourable Michael B. Murphy >>> Minister of Health >>> >>> CM/cb >>> >>> >>> Warren McBeath warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca wrote: >>> >>> Date: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 17:34:53 -0500 >>> From: "Warren McBeath"warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca >>> To: kilgoursite@ca.inter.net, MichaelB.Murphy@gnb.ca, >>> nada.sarkis@gnb.ca, wally.stiles@gnb.ca, dwatch@web.net, >>> motomaniac_02186@yahoo.com >>> CC: ottawa@chuckstrahl.com, riding@chuckstrahl.com,John. >>> Oda.B@parl.gc.ca,"Bev BUSSON"bev.busson@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, >>> "Paul Dube"PAUL.DUBE@rcmp-grc.gc.ca >>> Subject: Re: Remember me Kilgour? Landslide Annie McLellan has >>> forgotten me but the crooks within the RCMP have not >>> >>> Dear Mr. Amos, >>> >>> Thank you for your follow up e-mail to me today. I was on days off >>> over the holidays and returned to work this evening. Rest assured I >>> was not ignoring or procrastinating to respond to your concerns. >>> >>> As your attachment sent today refers from Premier Graham, our position >>> is clear on your dead calf issue: Our forensic labs do not process >>> testing on animals in cases such as yours, they are referred to the >>> Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown who can provide these >>> services. If you do not choose to utilize their expertise in this >>> instance, then that is your decision and nothing more can be done. >>> >>> As for your other concerns regarding the US Government, false >>> imprisonment and Federal Court Dates in the US, etc... it is clear >>> that Federal authorities are aware of your concerns both in Canada >>> the US. These issues do not fall into the purvue of Detachment >>> and policing in Petitcodiac, NB. >>> >>> It was indeed an interesting and informative conversation we had on >>> December 23rd, and I wish you well in all of your future endeavors. >>> >>> Sincerely, >>> >>> Warren McBeath, Cpl. >>> GRC Caledonia RCMP >>> Traffic Services NCO >>> Ph: (506) 387-2222 >>> Fax: (506) 387-4622 >>> E-mail warren.mcbeath@rcmp-grc.gc.ca >>> >>> >>> >>> Alexandre Deschênes, Q.C., >>> Office of the Integrity Commissioner >>> Edgecombe House, 736 King Street >>> Fredericton, N.B. CANADA E3B 5H1 >>> tel.: 506-457-7890 >>> fax: 506-444-5224 >>> e-mail:coi@gnb.ca >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>> Date: Wed, Sep 23, 2015 at 10:35 AM >>> Subject: RE My complaint against the CROWN in Federal Court Attn David >>> Hansen and Peter MacKay If you planning to submit a motion for a >>> publication ban on my complaint trust that you dudes are way past too >>> late >>> To: David.Hansen@justice.gc.ca, peter.mackay@justice.gc.ca >>> peacock.kurt@telegraphjournal. >>> david.akin@sunmedia.ca, robert.frater@justice.gc.ca, >>> paul.riley@ppsc-sppc.gc.ca, >>> greg@gregdelbigio.com, joyce.dewitt-vanoosten@gov.bc. >>> joan.barrett@ontario.ca, jean-vincent.lacroix@gouv.qc. >>> peter.rogers@mcinnescooper.com >>> Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, gopublic@cbc.ca, >>> Whistleblower@ctv.ca >>> >>> https://scc-csc.lexum.com/scc- >>> >>> http://www.scc-csc.gc.ca/ >>> >>> http://thedavidamosrant. >>> >>> I repeat what the Hell do I do with the Yankee wiretapes taps sell >>> them on Ebay or listen to them and argue them with you dudes in >>> Feferal Court? >>> >>> Petey Baby loses all parliamentary privelges in less than a month but >>> he still supposed to be an ethical officer of the Court CORRECT? >>> >>> Veritas Vincit >>> David Raymond Amos >>> 902 800 0369 >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>> Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2012 14:10:14 -0400 >>> Subject: Yo Mr Bauer say hey to your client Obama and his buddies in >>> the USDOJ for me will ya? >>> To: RBauer@perkinscoie.com, sshimshak@paulweiss.com, >>> cspada@lswlaw.com, msmith@svlaw.com, bginsberg@pattonboggs.com, >>> gregory.craig@skadden.com, pm@pm.gc.ca, bob.paulson@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, >>> bob.rae@rogers.blackberry.net, MulcaT@parl.gc.ca, leader@greenparty.ca >>> Cc: alevine@cooley.com, david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, >>> michael.rothfeld@wsj.com, remery@ecbalaw.com >>> >>> QSLS Politics >>> By Location Visit Detail >>> Visit 29,419 >>> Domain Name usdoj.gov ? (U.S. Government) >>> IP Address 149.101.1.# (US Dept of Justice) >>> ISP US Dept of Justice >>> Location Continent : North America >>> Country : United States (Facts) >>> State : District of Columbia >>> City : Washington >>> Lat/Long : 38.9097, -77.0231 (Map) >>> Language English (U.S.) en-us >>> Operating System Microsoft WinXP >>> Browser Internet Explorer 8.0 >>> Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 5.1; Trident/4.0; .NET >>> CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.0.4506.2152; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; InfoPath.2; >>> DI60SP1001) >>> Javascript version 1.3 >>> Monitor Resolution : 1024 x 768 >>> Color Depth : 32 bits >>> Time of Visit Nov 17 2012 6:33:08 pm >>> Last Page View Nov 17 2012 6:33:08 pm >>> Visit Length 0 seconds >>> Page Views 1 >>> Referring URL http://www.google.co... >>> Search Engine google.com >>> Search Words david amos bernie madoff >>> Visit Entry Page http://qslspolitics....-wendy- >>> Visit Exit Page http://qslspolitics....-wendy- >>> Out Click >>> Time Zone UTC-5:00 >>> Visitor's Time Nov 17 2012 12:33:08 pm >>> Visit Number 29,419 >>> >>> http://qslspolitics.blogspot. >>> >>> >>> Could ya tell I am investigating your pension plan bigtime? Its >>> because no member of the RCMP I have ever encountered has earned it yet >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>> Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 11:36:04 -0400 >>> Subject: This is a brief as I can make my concerns Randy >>> To: randyedmunds@gov.nl.ca >>> Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com >>> >>> In a nutshell my concerns about the actions of the Investment Industry >>> affect the interests of every person in every district of every >>> country not just the USA and Canada. I was offering to help you with >>> Emera because my work with them and Danny Williams is well known and >>> some of it is over eight years old and in the PUBLIC Record. >>> >>> All you have to do is stand in the Legislature and ask the MInister of >>> Justice why I have been invited to sue Newfoundland by the >>> Conservatives >>> >>> >>> Obviously I am the guy the USDOJ and the SEC would not name who is the >>> link to Madoff and Putnam Investments >>> >>> Here is why >>> >>> http://banking.senate.gov/ >>> >>> Notice the transcripts and webcasts of the hearing of the US Senate >>> Banking Commitee are still missing? Mr Emory should at least notice >>> Eliot Spitzer and the Dates around November 20th, 2003 in the >>> following file >>> >>> http://www.checktheevidence. >>> >>> http://occupywallst.org/users/ >>> >>> >>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>> From: "Hansen, David"David.Hansen@justice.gc.ca >>> Date: Thu, 1 Aug 2013 19:28:44 +0000 >>> Subject: RE: I just called again Mr Hansen >>> To: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>> >>> Hello Mr. Amos, >>> >>> I manage the Justice Canada civil litigation section in the Atlantic >>> region. We are only responsible for litigating existing civil >>> litigation files in which the Attorney General of Canada is a named >>> defendant or plaintiff. If you are a plaintiff or defendant in an >>> existing civil litigation matter in the Atlantic region in which >>> Attorney General of Canada is a named defendant or plaintiff please >>> provide the court file number, the names of the parties in the action >>> and your question. I am not the appropriate contact for other >>> matters. >>> >>> Thanks >>> >>> David A. Hansen >>> Regional Director | Directeur régional >>> General Counsel |Avocat général >>> Civil Litigation and Advisory | Contentieux des affaires civiles et >>> services de consultation >>> Department of Justice | Ministère de la Justice >>> Suite 1400 – Duke Tower | Pièce 1400 – Tour Duke >>> 5251 Duke Street | 5251 rue Duke >>> Halifax, Nova Scotia | Halifax, Nouvelle- Écosse >>> B3J 1P3 >>> david.hansen@justice.gc.ca >>> Telephone | Téléphone (902) 426-3261 / Facsimile | Télécopieur (902) >>> 426-2329 >>> This e-mail is confidential and may be protected by solicitor-client >>> privilege. Unauthorized distribution or disclosure is prohibited. If >>> you have received this e-mail in error, please notify us and delete >>> this entire e-mail. >>> Before printing think about the Environment >>> Thinking Green, please do not print this e-mail unless necessary. >>> Pensez vert, svp imprimez que si nécessaire. >>> >>> >>>> >>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>>> Date: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 02:23:24 -0300 >>>> Subject: ATTN FBI Special Agent Richard Deslauriers Have you talked to >>>> your buddies Fred Wyshak and Brian Kelly about the wiretap tapes YET? >>>> To: boston@ic.fbi.gov, washington.field@ic.fbi.gov, >>>> bob.paulson@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, Kevin.leahy@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, >>>> Brian.Kelly@usdoj.gov, us.marshals@usdoj.gov, Fred.Wyshak@usdoj.gov, >>>> jcarney@carneybassil.com, bbachrach@bachrachlaw.net >>>> Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, birgittaj@althingi.is, >>>> shmurphy@globe.com, redicecreations@gmail.com >>>> >>>> FBI Boston >>>> One Center Plaza >>>> Suite 600 >>>> Boston, MA 02108 >>>> Phone: (617) 742-5533 >>>> Fax: (617) 223-6327 >>>> E-mail: Boston@ic.fbi.gov >>>> >>>> Hours >>>> Although we operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, our normal >>>> "walk-in" business hours are from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday >>>> through Friday. If you need to speak with a FBI representative at any >>>> time other than during normal business hours, please telephone our >>>> office at (617) 742-5533. >>>> >>>> >>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>>> Date: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 01:20:20 -0300 >>>> Subject: Yo Fred Wyshak and Brian Kelly your buddy Whitey's trial is >>>> finally underway now correct? What the hell do I do with the wiretap >>>> tapes Sell them on Ebay? >>>> To: Brian.Kelly@usdoj.gov, us.marshals@usdoj.gov, >>>> Fred.Wyshak@usdoj.gov, jcarney@carneybassil.com, >>>> bbachrach@bachrachlaw.net, wolfheartlodge@live.com, shmurphy@globe.com, >>>> >> jonathan.albano@bingham.com, mvalencia@globe.com >>>> Cc: david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, oldmaison@yahoo.com, >>>> PATRICK.MURPHY@dhs.gov, rounappletree@aol.com >>>> >>>> http://www.bostonglobe.com/ >>>> >>>> http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ >>>> >>>> As the CBC etc yap about Yankee wiretaps and whistleblowers I must ask >>>> them the obvious question AIN'T THEY FORGETTING SOMETHING???? >>>> >>>> http://www.youtube.com/watch? >>>> >>>> What the hell does the media think my Yankee lawyer served upon the >>>> USDOJ right after I ran for and seat in the 39th Parliament baseball >>>> cards? >>>> >>>> http://www.archive.org/ >>>> >>>> http://archive.org/details/ >>>> >>>> http://davidamos.blogspot.ca/ >>>> >>>> http://www.archive.org/ >>>> >>>> http://archive.org/details/ >>>> >>>> FEDERAL EXPRES February 7, 2006 >>>> Senator Arlen Specter >>>> United States Senate >>>> Committee on the Judiciary >>>> 224 Dirksen Senate Office Building >>>> Washington, DC 20510 >>>> >>>> Dear Mr. Specter: >>>> >>>> I have been asked to forward the enclosed tapes to you from a man >>>> named, David Amos, a Canadian citizen, in connection with the matters >>>> raised in the attached letter. >>>> >>>> Mr. Amos has represented to me that these are illegal FBI wire tap >>>> tapes. >>>> >>>> I believe Mr. Amos has been in contact with you about this previously. >>>> >>>> Very truly yours, >>>> Barry A. Bachrach >>>> Direct telephone: (508) 926-3403 >>>> Direct facsimile: (508) 929-3003 >>>> Email: bbachrach@bowditch.com >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: "David Amos"david.raymond.amos@gmail.com >>>> To: "Rob Talach"rtalach@ledroitbeckett.com >>>> Sent: Tuesday, June 12, 2012 10:59 PM >>>> Subject: Re: Attn Robert Talach and I should talk ASAP about my suing >>>> the Catholic Church Trust that Bastarache knows why >>>> >>>> The date stamp on about page 134 of this old file of mine should mean >>>> a lot to you >>>> >>>> http://www.checktheevidence. >>>> >>>> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- >>>> From: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>>> Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 15:37:08 -0400 >>>> Subject: To Hell with the KILLER COP Gilles Moreau What say you NOW >>>> Bernadine Chapman?? >>>> To: Gilles.Moreau@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, phil.giles@statcan.ca, >>>> maritme_malaise@yahoo.ca, Jennifer.Nixon@ps-sp.gc.ca, >>>> bartman.heidi@psic-ispc.gc.ca, Yves.J.Marineau@rcmp-grc.gc.ca >>>> david.paradiso@erc-cee.gc.ca, desaulniea@smtp.gc.ca, >>>> denise.brennan@tbs-sct.gc.ca, anne.murtha@vac-acc.gc.ca, >>>> webo@xplornet.com, julie.dickson@osfi-bsif.gc.ca, >>>> rod.giles@osfi-bsif.gc.ca, flaherty.j@parl.gc.ca, toewsv1@parl.gc.ca, >>>> Nycole.Turmel@parl.gc.ca,Cleme >>>> >> oig@sec.gov, whistleblower@finra.org, whistle@fsa.gov.uk, >>>> david@fairwhistleblower.ca >>>> Cc: j.kroes@interpol.int, david.raymond.amos@gmail.com, >>>> bernadine.chapman@rcmp-grc.gc. >>>> Juanita.Peddle@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, oldmaison@yahoo.com, >>>> Wayne.Lang@rcmp-grc.gc.ca, Robert.Trevors@gnb.ca, >>>> ian.fahie@rcmp-grc.gc.ca> >>>> >>>> http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/nb/ >>>> >>>> http://nb.rcmpvet.ca/ >>>> >>>> From: Gilles Moreau Gilles.Moreau@rcmp-grc.gc.ca >>>> Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2012 08:03:22 -0500 >>>> Subject: Re: Lets ee if the really nasty Newfy Lawyer Danny Boy >>>> Millions will explain this email to you or your boss Vic Toews EH >>>> Constable Peddle??? >>>> To: David Amos motomaniac333@gmail.com >>>> >>>> Please cease and desist from using my name in your emails. >>>> >>>> Gilles Moreau, Chief Superintendent, CHRP and ACC >>>> Director General >>>> HR Transformation >>>> 73 Leikin Drive, M5-2-502 >>>> Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0R2 >>>> >>>> Tel 613-843-6039 >>>> Cel 613-818-6947 >>>> >>>> Gilles Moreau, surintendant principal, CRHA et ACC >>>> Directeur général de la Transformation des ressources humaines >>>> 73 Leikin, pièce M5-2-502 >>>> Ottawa, ON K1A 0R2 >>>> >>>> tél 613-843-6039 >>>> cel 613-818-6947 >>>> gilles.moreau@rcmp-grc.gc.ca >>>> >> > | |
Green MLA Kevin Arseneau examines leaked documents about Irving offshore tax havens.Carl Mondello/Radio-CanadaWhen New Brunswick Green MLA Kevin Arseneau spoke out in spring 2020 about the billionaire Irving family’s use of offshore tax havens, he struck a nerve.
He was raising a subject that successive Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments had refused to broach.
“In 2016, Statistics Canada reported that the Irving companies were owned by eight offshore holding companies based in Bermuda, a known tax haven with a zero per cent corporate income tax rate,” Arseneau said in the New Brunswick Legislature.
His comments provoked a striking rebuttal from one branch of the Irving family — a seemingly blanket denial that they sheltered their wealth offshore to avoid Canadian taxes.
“We are not owned and controlled from Bermuda, as incorrectly suggested by MLA Arseneau,” J.K. Irving, the owner of J.D. Irving Ltd. (JDI), wrote in a June 4, 2020, letter to Arseneau’s leader, David Coon.
He asked Coon to “speak with [Arseneau] about this.”
The Irvings are among Canada’s wealthiest families, and their companies are dominant economic players in New Brunswick and a ubiquitous presence for consumers. J.D. Irving Ltd. is the province’s biggest private-sector employer and the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John is the country’s largest.
As privately held companies, they are not required to publicly report on their financial affairs, making their offshore assets the subject of long-running speculation.
Irving’s assertion about not being “owned and controlled” from Bermuda seems clear and, on the surface, it appears the family may have pulled out of Bermuda after decades of using the island as a tax haven.
J.K. Irving wrote in 2020 that his company was 'not owned and controlled
from Bermuda,' despite a federal lobbyist registry entry showing a
parent company on the island. (CBC)
But it’s impossible to know for sure given the complexity of contradictory, publicly available evidence.
The day the letter was written, J.D. Irving Ltd.’s own filings with the federal lobbyist registry said it was a subsidiary of F.M.W. Co. Ltd. of Bermuda, an offshore Irving holding company.
JDI continued to list F.M.W. as its parent until October 2021 — 16 months after the letter — when it changed the registration to show JDI itself as the parent.
In an emailed statement, Anne McInerney, the company’s vice-president of communications, said, “the facts in Mr. Irving’s [June 2020] letter were accurate then and are accurate today.”
She said F.M.W. ceased being JDI’s parent company in 2012, and the company did not think to change the listing in the lobbyist registry for another nine years.
“We corrected that information in 2021 as soon as we identified that the registry had not been updated to reflect the change in our parent company that occurred in 2012,” McInerney wrote.
WATCH | What we learned about the Irvings in the Paradise Papers leak:
University of Victoria tax law professor Geoffrey Loomer said the claim in Irving’s letter of Canadian ownership and control was “carefully made, and it’s technically true.
“It is very likely that all of these foreign entities, trust companies, are somehow indirectly owned by Canadian family members. I’m sure that’s true.”
What matters, he said, is that companies registered in Bermuda that do not produce goods there pay no income tax there — regardless of where ultimate ownership and control reside.
The Irving letter “obscures the fact … that there are these various companies, or at least have been over the last 40 years, that are established in places like Bermuda,” Loomer said.
University
of Victoria tax law expert Geoffrey Loomer says Irving’s letter is
‘technically true’ but it obscures the company’s history offshore.
(Frédéric Gagnon/Radio-Canada)
“That offers a lot of tax savings opportunities, or has offered a lot of tax savings opportunities in the past.”
Other public records raise the possibility that the Irvings have exited Bermuda altogether or have shifted to a different offshore strategy.
The island’s corporate registry says all known Irving companies on the island have been dissolved, including F.M.W., J.D. Irving Ltd.’s former parent company.
McInerney said the various “FM” companies identified by CBC News and Radio-Canada “have not been active in our organization for more than 10 years.”
If true, it could mark the end of more than four decades of controversial tax avoidance by New Brunswick’s wealthiest family.
But, if true, it’s something the Irvings are refusing to state explicitly.
McInerney said in her statement all JDI companies “are wholly owned and controlled by Canadians.”
She did not, however, respond to a question about whether JDI currently owns and controls any offshore companies in tax havens.
A half-century of offshore companies
K.C. Irving incorporated his first Bermuda holding company, F.M.O. Co. Ltd., in 1968. He created two more, Forest Mere Investments and F.M.P. Co. Ltd., in 1969, and moved to the island himself in 1972.
K.C.
Irving, seen in an undated CBC image, incorporated his first Bermuda
company in 1968 and moved to the island in 1972. (CBC)
Irving established at least 11 more companies with the “F.M.” naming convention on the island, including F.M.A., an insurance company that allowed Irving companies to shift tax-free profits to Bermuda by paying large premiums to F.M.A.
F.M.A. and five other Irving companies in Bermuda were unknown to the public until CBC News and Radio-Canada’s Enquête revealed their existence this week based on documents leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
The documents known as the Paradise Papers come from Appleby, a global offshore services law firm founded in Bermuda that counted Irving companies as clients.
Based in Bermuda, controlled from Canada
Some of the Irving companies in Bermuda were holding companies that owned or co-owned the major Irving companies based in New Brunswick managed by K.C.’s three sons, J.K., Arthur and Jack.
Brothers J.K., Arthur and Jack Irving are seen during a 2007 appearance. (CBC)
After K.C. Irving died in 1992, ownership of the holding companies passed to a trust established in his will and overseen by three trustees living in Bermuda and New York, including his widow, Winnifred.
The fact they did not live in Canada made the $3 billion trust non-taxable here, experts said at the time.
Even so, Statistics Canada’s inter-corporate ownership database has always listed the Bermuda holding companies as being under “effective control” from Canada.
In 2008, K.C. Irving’s three sons agreed on how to divide up the companies by disentangling their cross-ownership and splitting up the trust.
Bermuda records show companies dissolved
A Bermuda judge approved the split in 2010, and all known Irving companies on the island, including those later identified in the Paradise Papers leak, were later dissolved, according to a list provided to CBC News and Radio-Canada by Bermuda’s corporate registry.
F.M.O. Ltd., the holding company that owned Irving Oil, was first, dissolved in 2013. The process concluded in May 2021, when the last remaining company, F.M.K., was dissolved.
A list provided by the Bermuda corporate registry shows F.M.W., JDI’s parent on the lobbyist registry until 2021, among seven Irving companies dissolved on March 12, 2015, more than five years before the letter to David Coon.
Yet Statistics Canada’s inter-corporate ownership database continues to list five Bermuda companies, including F.M.W., as of its annual update on June 17, 2022.
Jim Irving, JDI’s co-CEO, refused to explain the status of the Bermuda companies after a public event in May.
“I’m not talking about anything like that today,” he said.
In May, Jim Irving refused to talk about the status of the Bermuda companies. (Roger Cosman/CBC)
Records can lag by more than 5 years, Irving says
In an emailed statement in September, McInerney chalked up the differing records to official processes.
“Any changes you’re now seeing in the Bermuda companies’ registry are likely associated with legislated requirements in that country that prescribe the process and timelines for winding down of companies,” she wrote.
“In some cases we have seen this take 5+ years even though the entity has not been active for many, many years.”
McInerney repeated that “there is no offshore ownership or control of our organization.” She turned down an interview request.
Loomer doubts the Irvings have abandoned offshore tax havens.
“I think that’s highly unlikely, as in zero likelihood,” he said.
“The rules that apply to companies that are multinational in nature that have offshore activities … allow the avoidance of some Canadian corporate tax. They’ve been designed that way. Irving is not the only one.
“So I’d be very surprised if they’re completely out of the offshore world.”
Irving Oil still linked to Bermuda as of 2020
On the Irving Oil side of the family — a separate business entity from JDI for more than a decade — spokesperson Katherine d’Entremont said in an emailed statement that “we can confirm the full ownership structure of Irving Oil is fully taxable in Canada.”
But documents suggest a link to Bermuda still existed as recently as two years ago.
Documents in Ireland identify the Bermuda-based ALI Family No. 1 Trust as Irving Oil’s owner. (Carl Mondello/Radio-Canada)
A draft Bermuda court filing from May 2012 says Arthur Irving’s newly created “ALI Family No. 1 Trust,” created after the split of the conglomerate, was based on the island.
And a December 2012 Bermuda court ruling said new family holding companies Arthur was setting up under a new trust on the island would be “tax efficient vehicles for distributing the profits generated” by Irving Oil’s operations in Canada.
The ALI Family No. 1 Trust was still the ultimate parent of Irving Oil as of Dec. 31, 2020, according to financial statements of the Irish holding company Irving acquired when it bought the Whitegate oil refinery and a gas station chain in Ireland.
Arseneau said it’s easy to understand why the Irvings don’t want a public discussion of their offshore strategy.
“It goes against the image they’ve been trying to show New Brunswickers,” he said. “It goes against their integrity as a hard-working New Brunswick family who built everything right here for the people here.”
A culture of secrecy
Helping obscure the exact nature of Irving’s presence in Bermuda is the island’s longstanding culture of secrecy.
“If you are wealthy and you don’t want people prying into your affairs, it’s a good place to have a trust,” Loomer said.
In 2009, Bermuda judge Ian Kawaley wrote the island is “an offshore trust domicile,” so its courts were “bound not just to be sympathetic to the privacy needs of those who establish trusts here, but also to the need to promote the development of Bermuda trust law as well.”
That passage was quoted by Irving lawyer John Riihiluoma in a Dec. 3, 2009, Bermuda court filing during proceedings to divide the family’s corporate empire.
The filing is part of the Paradise Papers leak. Its contents would not be publicly known otherwise.
Riihiluoma, a lawyer at Appleby representing Arthur and Jack Irving, wanted the court file sealed.
The Bermuda constitution, he noted, allows a court to exclude the public to ensure “the protection of the private lives of persons concerned in the proceedings.”
The lawyers were also in “sensitive” negotiations with the Canada Revenue Agency, and it could be “damaging” if “tax advice or calculations” became public, Riihiluoma argued.
The judge sealed the file.
Alain Deneault, the author of several books on offshore tax havens, says this deference reveals something fundamental about such jurisdictions.
‘A
state isn’t supposed to be totally dedicated to private interests,’
says Alain Deneault. (Carl Mondello/Radio-Canada) (Carl
Mondello/Radio-Canada)
“Bermuda is not a state, if we think of what a state is supposed to be,” he said. “A state isn’t supposed to be totally dedicated to private interests. … But this is what they do.”
‘Point is valid,’ Higgs said
The comments by Arseneau that prompted the Irving response were made in the legislature on May 27, 2020. He was pushing the New Brunswick government to outlaw provincial taxpayer-funded subsidies to companies using offshore tax havens.
“The point is valid, I understand it,” Premier Blaine Higgs responded. “Every company that is based in any province or in our country needs to pay their fair share of taxes.”
But he said offshore taxation is the federal government’s jurisdiction — a correct statement, but one that ignored Arseneau’s demand for a policy change on provincial subsidies.
Beyond Bermuda
It’s impossible to know from the Paradise Papers to what extent the Irvings may have shifted their assets to other tax havens.
There are only a few references to other jurisdictions.
The documents show that in September 2003, Arthur Irving and his wife Sandra became directors of a company called Bianca Ltd. in Barbados.
Records show all shares of its parent company, Allan Bay Holdings, were sold a year earlier for $17.5 million.
The company was incorporated in 1989 and in 2016 had assets of more than $4 million.
In May 2008, Arthur and Sandra Irving incorporated and became directors of Seagrape Holdings Ltd., another Barbados company, along with Trevor Carmichael, a Barbados lawyer practising international business law.
Seagrape also had assets of more than $4 million as of 2015.
In emailed statements, d’Entremont, the Irving Oil spokesperson, did not respond to questions about the Barbados companies and said Arthur Irving and his daughter Sarah, the company’s executive vice-president, were “not available for an interview.”
Arthur Irving’s son Kenneth, who was CEO of the company from 2005 to 2010, also refused an interview request about changes to the offshore holdings over the last decade.
“I’m not aware of the organizational changes you’ve mentioned and suspect I would not be in a position to comment even if I did,” he said in an email.
‘No way of finding that out’
Deneault said the secrecy surrounding the Irvings’ offshore assets is enabled in part by a lack of curiosity from New Brunswick government officials.
In April 2019, Arseneau asked Finance Minister Ernie Steeves in the legislature for any studies or reports his department had on any lost tax revenue resulting from the Irvings being in Bermuda.
“We do not know,” Steeves said. “We do not have a list of businesses who partake in any tax havens. … We would have no way of finding that out. I am sorry.”
The minister said it was up to Ottawa to track that information.
“It’s not that [Arseneau] didn’t get an answer,” Deneault said. “The answer was ‘We have nothing. We don’t care about this issue.’
“How spectacular that is!”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/irving-offshore-split-1.6639780
Irving's offshore split was a race against time — and taxes
Leaked documents reveal family faced deadline to avoid federal tax hit
As New Brunswick's Irving family raced to break up their multibillion-dollar corporate empire more than a decade ago, brothers J.K., Arthur and Jack Irving agreed on at least one common goal.
They needed to keep their tax bills down.
"The threat of a massive impending Canadian tax charge in December 2013" was a key driver for carving up the fortune as soon as possible, U.K. lawyer Andrew Hine wrote in a February 2010 court filing in Bermuda.
Hine was representing Arthur Irving's grandchildren, one of many lawyers negotiating the division of the empire, including tax-free offshore trusts set up in Bermuda by late patriarch K.C. Irving.
K.C.'s three sons, J.K., Arthur and Jack, had agreed to split the conglomerate, disentangling a complex web of cross-ownership.
A "growing conflict" between the three branches of the family was "increasingly problematic," Keith Bruce-Smith, a London lawyer representing some of J.K. Irving's grandchildren, wrote in a March 2010 legal affidavit filed in Bermuda.
Hine wrote that if the conglomerate did not break up, "tension and distrust" could "jeopardize the potential benefits available for current and future generations of the Irving family."
Lawyer
Andrew Hine wrote in a filing that the 'threat of a massive impending
Canadian tax charge' was one factor prompting the Irvings to carve up
the family fortune. (Taylor Wessing)
Those comments are contained in confidential court filings never made public that were reviewed by CBC News and Radio-Canada thanks to a leak known as the Paradise Papers.
Despite the tensions, the three branches of the family saw eye-to-eye on the need to finalize the reorganizing of their assets by the end of 2013 to beat a major change to Canadian laws on taxes and trusts.
New federal legislation would take effect to tax income from offshore trusts benefiting Canadian residents — such as K.C. Irving's sons, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
"If the beneficiaries are Canadian, going forward after 2013, they're going to be paying tax on the investment income," Geoffrey Loomer, an offshore tax expert and professor at the University of Victoria Law School, said in an interview with CBC and Radio-Canada.
K.C. Irving established two trusts in Bermuda in 1976, one for his sons and one for his grandchildren. He created a third with his will when he died in 1992.
The plan that took shape in 2009 and early 2010 was to declare those two trusts void, fold their assets into the K.C. Irving Estate Trust, then divide that among the three families.
Otherwise, the tax bill from the Canada Revenue Agency "could potentially cripple the operating businesses," Bruce-Smith wrote in his affidavit.
Leak includes documents from Irving's Bermuda law firm
Details of the Irvings' tax-driven rush to split their empire are revealed in the Paradise Papers, documents leaked to German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
Many of the records come from Appleby, one of the biggest offshore services law firms on the planet. It was founded in Bermuda and counted Irving companies among its clients.
The leak known as the Paradise Papers includes court filings with
new details of the tax motives for the Irving split. (Jacques
Poitras/CBC)
The Irving family is among Canada's wealthiest. J.K. Irving's fortune has been estimated by Forbes Magazine at between $4.1 billion and $8.3 billion over the last decade. His brother Arthur's has ranged from $1.9 billion to $5.5 billion. The third brother, Jack, died in 2010.
Forestry and paper operations overseen by J.K. Irving are New Brunswick's largest private-sector employer. Arthur's Irving Oil refinery is Canada's largest.
Tax-free Irving trust in Bermuda was worth $3 billion
Documents indicate the value of the Bermuda-based K.C. Irving Estate Trust was $3 billion — a large share of the family's total net worth — when its split was approved in 2010.
Bermuda does not charge corporate income tax on companies that don't produce or manufacture anything on the island. K.C. Irving began registering holding companies in Bermuda in 1968 and moved there after leaving New Brunswick at the end of 1971.
Following his death in 1992, his will created the K.C. Irving Estate Trust in Bermuda and named three trustees to oversee it: his widow, Winnifred, who lived on the island, and two of his lawyers in Bermuda and New York.
By appointing non-Canadian residents as trustees, Irving was ensuring the money could not be taxed in Canada, experts said at the time.
Back in New Brunswick, J.K., Arthur and Jack continued to manage the Irving companies as a team.
Most expensive trust rearrangement 'in legal history'
Preliminary family discussions of a split were underway in 2000 or earlier, says Hine's 2010 affidavit.
That's around the same time the federal government began looking at tightening the tax rules for offshore trusts, Loomer said.
Brothers J.K., Arthur and Jack Irving started talking about splitting the conglomerate in 2000 or earlier. (CBC)
"Their advisers would have been well aware of plans to change Canada's non-resident trust rules," he said.
An initial deal between the three brothers on how to divide the assets broke down in 2007.
On Canada Day in 2008, they signed a new memorandum of agreement.
The process of slicing up the K.C. Irving Estate Trust, involving teams of international tax and trust lawyers, was "probably the most protracted and expensive trust rearrangement in legal history," Frank Hinks, a lawyer for Arthur Irving, said in written submissions in 2012.
'Sensitive negotiations' with Canada Revenue Agency
According to the leaked documents, the plan was to divide the assets between three holding companies set up by the three brothers: JKI Holdco, ALI Holdco and JEI Holdco.
Arthur's ALI Holdco would get two-thirds ownership of Irving Oil, while Jack's family would get the other third, along with construction companies and other businesses they had run for years.
J.K.'s branch got full ownership of the forestry, shipbuilding, food, paper and other enterprises they had long managed.
Each brother would create a new trust for his respective branch of the family.
The process required "sensitive negotiations" with the Canada Revenue Agency, according to submissions by Bermuda lawyer John Riihiluoma filed in 2009 asking for the proceedings to be kept confidential.
According to the Hine affidavit, the Irvings needed the CRA to provide a "favourable response" or else the division could not go ahead.
The leaked court filings do not spell out exactly what the family wanted the CRA to approve.
But Hine wrote in affidavit that a federal rejection could create "major difficulties" and the family might not be able to come up with a new plan before the December 2013 deadline.
2 trusts folded into K.C. Irving's estate
To split the empire, the family first had to eliminate the two trusts established by K.C. Irving on June 28, 1976, one for his sons and one for his grandchildren.
They were designed to avoid Canadian taxes, Arthur Irving acknowledged during a February 1980 discovery hearing in his divorce case.
When a lawyer for his wife Joan questioned what the lawyer called a "gift" of $4 million to the grandchildren's trust in 1976, Arthur responded, "It was good business, tax reasons."
By 2010, however, the sons' and grandchildren's trusts had become a potential tax problem.
Because their beneficiaries lived in Canada, the new legislation would make the trusts taxable at the end of 2013 — if they still existed.
Lawyers applied to a Bermuda judge to invalidate the trusts. If declared void, their property "falls into" the K.C. Irving Estate Trust, Riihiluoma wrote, helping the "tax efficient implementation" of the split.
Hine agreed: voiding the two trusts would produce "a significant tax saving," while failure "would substantially affect the amount of cash available to Irving Oil because of the need to fund the tax liability."
For Hine, that failure would jeopardize the oil company remaining a reliable source of wealth for Arthur's descendants, whom he was representing — and thus upend the carefully negotiated division designed to treat all branches of the family fairly.
Another benefit of invalidation, Riihiluoma noted, was that the Canada Revenue Agency would be the only party to "suffer financially" from the move.
Federal tax authorities didn't intervene
The CRA was aware of the split but "has given no indication of any desire" to intervene in the Bermuda court process, Riihiluoma added in the December 2009 filing.
To invalidate the two trusts, the lawyers argued to a Bermuda judge that they were never properly created in the first place.
In effect, K.C. Irving's heirs were second-guessing one of his offshore manoeuvres.
Left to right: Arthur Irving, J.K. Irving, Jamie Irving, K.C. Irving and Jack Irving. (CBC)
The trusts were not truly independent as required by law, Riihiluoma argued in his submissions, because Irving maintained "total dominion and control" over them while he was alive, including the power to "bless any trust transaction."
On March 22, 2010, Chief Justice Richard Ground of the Supreme Court of Bermuda agreed to invalidate the trusts, folding their assets into the main K.C. Irving Estate Trust.
The family had beaten the deadline and avoided a huge tax bill.
Ground also approved in principle the three-way split of the newly merged trust among the J.K., Arthur and Jack Irving families.
Lawyers were soon at work putting the division into effect.
The final legal bill was around $100 million, according to Bermuda's new chief justice, Ian Kawaley, in a 2012 ruling related to the case.
Spokespersons for J.D. Irving Ltd. and Irving Oil turned down requests for interviews from CBC News and Radio-Canada and, in emailed statements, did not respond to questions about the splitting of the offshore trust or its tax implications.
Jack Irving's son John did not respond to an interview request. Kenneth Irving, who left Irving Oil in 2010, said no to an interview.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlfysV4xjAY&t=715s&ab_channel=ZalStief
The Irvings - Unlocking the Mystery (1998) Part One of Five
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1Ehl_Aa29c&t=1499s&ab_channel=ZalStief
The Irvings - Unlocking the Mystery (1998)
Parts 3, 4 and 5