Ex-Mountie charged with foreign interference, accused of using 'extensive network' to help China

The RCMP says it has arrested and charged a retired member of its force with foreign interference-related offences, connected to crimes allegedly committed in the years after he left the RCMP.

William Majcher, 60, from Hong Kong, is accused of helping the Chinese government's efforts to "identify and intimidate an individual outside the scope of Canadian law."

"Mr. Majcher allegedly used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People's Republic of China," said the RCMP in a statement issued Friday.

According to the RCMP, the charges follow an investigation from the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) launched in fall 2021 regarding his "suspicious activities."

Majcher appeared via videoconference at the Longueuil, Que. courthouse on Friday, after being arrested in Vancouver on Thursday night.

He has been charged with two counts under the rarely-used Security of Information Act: preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity, and conspiracy.

In an interview with CTV News, RCMP inspector David Beaudoin said he could not talk about "the victim," but said this is a "serious event" for the RCMP.

"However, it's important to note that Mr. Majcher, the alleged infractions that we're currently bringing to the review of the court, occurred between 2014 and 2019. Mr. Majcher's employment with the RCMP ended in 2007."

"So we're talking about criminal behavior that occurred seven years after his employment with the RCMP. At this point, we do not have any indication of infiltration, or any other individuals within the RCMP or the Canadian government that might have been involved in this criminal activity."

Beaudoin, who is in charge of operations for INSET said the investigation originated with the RCMP's national security program and then was assigned to Montreal's INSET group.

"From that point on a team of investigators here took on the file and has managed to progress to the point where we were able to arrest Mr. Majcher last night in Vancouver, while he was visiting Canada," Beaudoin said.

"It is also important to underline that this is not the conclusion of the file. There are still possibilities that we might arrest and actually lay criminal charges against more people in the coming period," he said.

Pressed for more details on how the former Mountie allegedly used his intel and contacts to help China, Beaudoin said the RCMP will be presenting further details in court. 

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The allegations against the former Mountie have not been proven, and his next scheduled court date is July 25.

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT FORMER RCMP OFFICER

A review of publicly-available information about this retired RCMP officer paints a colourful picture of Majcher's career, both during his time with the national police force and in the years that followed.

According to his LinkedIn profile, for several years Majcher has been the president and global head of recovery operations at an organization called Evaluate Monitor Investigate Deter Recover (EMIDR) LIMITED in Hong Kong.

The firm is described as using cyber technology to defend IT infrastructure "and where legally permitted, gather ALL forensic IT evidence to the point of origin of any cyber attack to support a lawful response."

Between 2013 and 2007 Majcher is listed as having worked at a series of companies overseas, doing work ranging from chairing an investment fund in Hong Kong to acting as an" international advisor to a senior member of [a] prominent family" in the middle east.

In a video of a 2014 address to a Hong Kong foreign correspondent's club, Majcher spoke about whistleblower protections, in the context of the Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, and WikiLeaks affair.

In it, Majcher talks about growing up in a "very typical Canadian middle-class family," graduating from Saint Mary's University in Halifax, and setting off to Europe to work his first job as a Eurobond trader in London.

"Within a year I was so good at it, I came back to Canada and joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police," he said. "I actually as a young boy always wanted to be a Mountie… and I wanted some adventure and excitement in my life. I wasn’t motivated by the money."

During his more than two decades with the RCMP beginning in 1985, Majcher worked in contract policing and was involved with federal policing, specifically with experience in "covert" drug investigations and financial crime investigations.

While on the RCMP's Integrated Market Enforcement Team, Majcher was a key investigator in the case involving Martin Chambers, a B.C. lawyer who in 2003 was sentenced to 15 years in jail in the United States for laundering money for a purported drug trafficking cartel, as part of what was called the joint RCMP-FBI Bermuda Short sting.

He retired with the rank of inspector. 

A page promoting Majcher as a public speaker bills him as being able to offer expertise on Chinese capital flows, financial crimes, the cyber threat in Asia and how to succeed as an entrepreneur "by following some tried and true principles learned from decades of conducting undercover operations."

CHARGES COME AMID FOCUS ON CHINA MEDDLING 

Foreign interference and alleged attempts by China to meddle in Canadian affairs and elections has been an issue at the forefront of the conversation in federal politics for several months, with parties currently negotiating over calling a national public inquiry.

In a tweet, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said this case is an example of why an inquiry into foreign interference should go beyond election meddling or the "pollution" of online spaces by China or other hostile foreign powers. 

Blanchet also indicated that talks were going in the right direction, towards a public inquiry launching, something he's been saying was imminent for a month. 

Testifying at a House committee about the issue of foreign interference last month, RCMP Commissioner Michael Duheme said that the federal police force has more than 100 files open regarding foreign interference investigations.

"The RCMP has a mandate to detect and disrupt foreign interference attempts. It investigates activities by individuals that pose a risk to Canadian institutions and the economy," said the RCMP on Thursday.

"Foreign actor interference is a priority for many law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world. The use of these kinds of covert and unofficial operations in Canada by persons mandated by a foreign state is likely to undermine Canada's democratic and judicial processes and threaten Canada's sovereignty."

Beaudoin confirmed that the Majcher investigation is "not related" to anything related to past elections.

In an interview on CTV News Channel, former senior intelligence officer Michel Juneau-Katsuya said these charges are coming at an "opportune" time given the ongoing public conversation around foreign interference.

"It was about time that we have those historical charges laid against Canadian individuals who are helping foreign entities to intimidate people," said the former CSIS official. "We still need to see exactly what kind of evidence was collected against him."

Former national security analyst Stephanie Carvin said Majcher's arrest is significant because it is the first time a charge under the Security of Information Act has been made in relation to a case of alleged foreign interference, and echoed Juneau-Katsuya in noting the timing given the current pressures on the RCMP to combat foreign interference.

"It's really concerning that this is someone who, in their career, had access to classified information and seems to have been willing to use it for the purpose of aiding another state engaged in foreign interference allegedly," Carvin said.

"It really does go to show, you know, if the allegations here are true, that these are the kinds of means that intelligence officials not just from China, but other countries around the world use, in order to spy on Canadians or to engage in foreign interference."

Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino thanked the RCMP for their "great work" in this case, in a brief comment on social media.

"Foreign interference threatens Canada’s security, prosperity and institutions - and our law enforcement agencies are stepping up their efforts to bring those responsible to justice," Mendicino said.

With files from CTV News Montreal and CTV News' Kevin Gallagher