RCMP charge Montreal company with bribery, fraud charges

A file photo of an RCMP cruiser. (Sean Amato/CTV News Edmonton)

A Montreal company that specializes in ballistic identification is facing corruption charges by the RCMP — the very police force the firm boasts as one of its many customers.

The RCMP said in a news release on Wednesday that Ultra Electronics Forensic Technology Inc., located in Montreal's Saint-Laurent borough, was charged on Tuesday with bribery of a foreign official and defrauding the public following an investigation into alleged international corruption.

The force also announced the same charges have been laid against Robert Andrew Walsh, Philip Timothy Heaney, René Bélanger, and Michael McLean, all from the Montreal area.

A spokesperson for the company wrote in an email to CTV News that the individuals are all former employees.

"It is alleged that the corporation and the accused individuals directed local agents in the Philippines to bribe foreign public officials to influence and expedite a multi-million-dollar contract," the RCMP said.

The contract, the company spokesperson said, is "no longer active."

"As announced in July 2019, Ultra has been investigating in full cooperation with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a historical bribery-related issue in the Philippines," the company stated.

"The matter in question is currently the subject of an ongoing legal process, and further announcements will be made in due course."

The accused are scheduled to appear at the Montreal courthouse on Sept. 28.

"The RCMP's Sensitive and International Investigations section focuses its expertise on sensitive, high-risk investigations involving serious threats to government institutions, public servants, the integrity of the state, or which could jeopardize the political, economic and social integrity of Canada," the police force said in the release.

"The RCMP remains committed to disrupting, deterring and preventing corruption, both domestically and internationally, and our goal is to bring to justice the individuals and companies involved in these types of crimes."

Ultra Electronics Forensic Technology describes itself as a "world leader" in firearm forensic solutions that helps police organizations and government agencies solve and prevent gun crime.