Members of Quebec’s anti-corruption squad raided the home of Laval, Que., Mayor Gilles Vaillancourt as well as city hall offices on Thursday.
The raid began around 4 p.m. and saw the evacuation of city hall as police searched the city’s computer servers and the human relations and engineering building.
According to reports, Vaillancourt, nicknamed the “King of Laval,” has been accused of illegal party financing and awarding contracts to family and friends. He has not been charged with any crime and he has staunchly denied the allegations.
Vaillancourt has served as mayor of Quebec’s third largest municipality since 1989, mostly uncontested.
About 70 officers from the provincial police anti-corruption unit, UPAC, were involved in the search.
A spokesperson for UPAC told CTV Montreal that police were executing search warrants as part of an ongoing investigation.
Laval’s opposition parties have their own theories as to what investigators are searching for.
Members of opposition party Mouvement Lavallois said they recently met with the Charbonneau commission to discuss the embattled mayor and four allegedly questionable land deals they say were made by Vaillancourt.
The party said it uncovered deals that saw city land bought and then quickly sold for up to five times the amount.
“The Charbonneau commission came to us in the month of May because we had four or five transactions that we found very peculiar,” Emilio Migliozzi of Mouvement Lavallois told CTV Montreal.
A spokesperson for the mayor said Vaillancourt was not at his office or his homewhen the raids were carried out.
“To see this kind of operation, he was very surprised,” said Johanne Bournival.
With files from The Canadian Press
