American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
A French court ordered home furnishings giant Ikea to pay some 1.1 million euros (US$1.3 million) in fines and damages Tuesday over a campaign to spy on union representatives, employees and some unhappy customers in France.
Two former Ikea France executives were convicted and fined over the scheme and given suspended prison sentences. Among the other 13 defendants in the high-profile trial, some were acquitted and others given suspended sentences.
Adel Amara, a former Ikea employee who helped expose the wrongdoing, called the ruling "a big step in defence of the citizen....It makes me glad that there is justice in France."
The panel of judges at the Versailles court found that between 2009 and 2012, Ikea's French subsidiary used espionage to sift out trouble-makers in the employee ranks and to profile squabbling customers.
Ikea France was convicted of receiving personal data obtained through fraudulent means in a habitual way, and ordered to pay 1 million euros in fines and about 100,000 euros ($121,225) in damages.
Ingka Group, which owns and operates most Ikea stores, noted in a statement after the verdicts that the French retail operation "has strongly condemned the practices, apologized and implemented a major action plan to prevent this from happening again."
"We will now review the court's decision in detail and consider if and where any additional measures are necessary," the group said.
Trade unions accused Ikea France of collecting personal data by fraudulent means, notably via illegally obtained police files, and illicitly disclosing personal information. Lawyers for Ikea France denied that the company had any strategy of "generalized espionage."
A lawyer for the unions, Solene Debarre, expressed hope that the verdict would "make some companies tremble."
"One million euros isn't much for Ikea, but it's a symbol," Debarre said.
The company, which said it cooperated in the investigation, had faced a potential financial penalty of up to 3.75 million euros ($4.5 million). Prosecutor Pamela Tabardel asked the court to hand "an exemplary sentence and a strong message to all companies."
The executive who was in charge of risk management at the time of the spying, Jean-Francois Paris, acknowledged to French judges that 530,000 to 630,000 euros a year were earmarked for such investigations. Paris -- the only official to have admitted to the alleged illegal sleuthing -- said his department was responsible for handling the operation on orders from former Ikea France CEO Jean-Louis Baillot.
Paris was convicted of fraudulently gathering personal data, fined 10,000 euros ($12,125) and given an 18-month suspended sentence.
Baillot, who denied ordering a spy operation, was convicted of receiving fraudulently collected data and complicity in the scheme. He was fined 50,000 euros ($60,626) and given a two-year suspended sentence.
Another former CEO of Ikea France was acquitted for lack of evidence.
Ikea France's lawyer, Emmanuel Daoud, said the company hadn't decided whether to appeal. He said the case was marked by a lack of hard evidence, and noted that the fines were well below the maximum possible.
"The court took into account the action plan that Ikea put in place after the revelation of the facts, in 2012. That's very satisfying," Daoud said.
The company fired four executives and changed internal policy after French prosecutors opened a criminal probe in 2012.
Trade unions alleged that Ikea France paid to gain access to police files that had information about targeted individuals, particularly union activists and customers who were in disputes with Ikea.
In one situation, Ikea France was accused of using unauthorized information to try to catch an employee who had claimed unemployment benefits but drove a Porsche. In another alleged instance of illegal prying, the subsidiary reportedly investigated an employee's criminal record to determine how the employee was able to own a BMW on a low income.
The company also faces potential damages from separate civil lawsuits filed by unions and 74 employees.
Ikea's France subsidiary employs more than 10,000 people in 34 stores, an e-commerce site and a customer support centre.
------
Jeffrey Schaeffer in Versailles and Elaine Ganley in Paris contributed.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Cabinet minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to run in the next election as a candidate under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's leadership, amid questions about his rumoured interest in succeeding his longtime friend for the top job.
A male columnist has apologized for a cringeworthy moment during former University of Iowa superstar and college basketball’s highest scorer Caitlin Clark’s first news conference as an Indiana Fever player.
Health Canada will change its longstanding policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned. The federal health agency has adopted a revised directive removing the ban on gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men, effective May 8.
The United States has vetoed a widely backed UN resolution that would have paved the way for full United Nations membership for the state of Palestine.
Bayer announced Thursday it is recalling two lots of its hydraSense Baby Nasal Care Easydose due to a potential contamination.
Technology from the 19th century has been brought out of retirement at a Newfoundland gardening store, as staff look for all the help they can get to fill orders during a busy season.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
A group of suspects that allegedly defrauded seniors across Ontario and other parts of Canada using a so-called emergency grandparent scam appear to have ties to 'Italian traditional organized crime,' according to an investigator involved in the OPP-led probe.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a grade four student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.
When Les Robertson was walking home from the gym in North Vancouver's Lower Lonsdale neighbourhood three weeks ago, he did a double take. Standing near a burrow it had dug in a vacant lot near East 1st Street and St. Georges Avenue was a yellow-bellied marmot.
A moulting seal who was relocated after drawing daily crowds of onlookers in Greater Victoria has made a surprise return, after what officials described as an 'astonishing' six-day journey.
Just steps from Parliament Hill is a barber shop that for the last 100 years has catered to everyone from prime ministers to tourists.
A high score on a Foo Fighters pinball machine has Edmonton player Dave Formenti on a high.
A compound used to treat sour gas that's been linked to fertility issues in cattle has been found throughout groundwater in the Prairies, according to a new study.
While many people choose to keep their medical appointments private, four longtime friends decided to undergo vasectomies as a group in B.C.'s Lower Mainland.