A former University of Manitoba law dean arrested in France who had been the subject of a Canada-wide arrest warrant might never be extradited — if he holds French citizenship, according to a professor of transnational criminal law. Jonathan Black-Branch, 64, was arrested as a result of an extradition request, Winnipeg Police Service Const. Stephen Spencer said Tuesday. He later clarified Black-Branch was arrested in France. Dalhousie University transnational criminal law professor Rober Currie says the location of his arrest may complicate his delivery to Canada. “If this individual does not hold French citizenship, then this could be a very straightforward extradition process,” Currie told CTV News Wednesday. “If, however, he does have French citizenship, that changes everything, because France, like a number of European countries, does not extradite its citizens to other countries.” In that scenario, he said French authorities would typically prosecute Black-Branch there instead. France has a mechanism called extraterritorial jurisdiction, Currie said, meaning the same alleged conduct could still be prosecuted — just not in Canada. It is not known at this time if Black-Branch holds French citizenship. Winnipeg police issued a Canada-wide warrant for Black-Branch’s arrest in March on a charge of fraud over $5,000. The extradition process is “ongoing” and before the French court system, police said, adding they are “not in a position to provide further information regarding the extradition proceedings while the matter remains before the courts.” Currie said that when someone charged with a crime in Canada is known to be abroad, international law enforcement co-operation typically kicks in, often through Interpol. “Canada may very well have filed a thing called a red notice, which is a little like an international arrest warrant,” Currie said. The goal, he said, is to let police in other countries know “this individual is sought for arrest and to face charges in Canada, so that if he can be intercepted somewhere and arrested, he will be.” “If you are under red notice and you try to cross a border, that can very often get you arrested,” he said. Interpol told CTV News that information shared by police in its member countries with its General Secretariat — its Lyon, France-based headquarters — remains the property of that country and can only be released under special circumstances or with that country’s approval. Interpol said Canada’s National Central Bureau falls under the RCMP, but an RCMP National Communications and Public Affairs spokesperson said the matter falls under Winnipeg Police Service jurisdiction, which is “best positioned to provide details.” Canada and France have a long-standing extradition treaty, Currie said, meaning “all the legal tools are in place” for a request like Black-Branch’s case to proceed. An arrest doesn’t necessarily mean a formal extradition request has even been filed yet, Currie noted. Canada may still be assembling the file materials required under the treaty, he said, with ongoing back-and-forth between officials on both sides. Currie said he doesn’t expect the fraud allegations to run into trouble under the principle of “double criminality,” which requires the conduct in question to be a crime in both countries. “French criminal law certainly has a crime of fraud,” he said. “They criminalize the same conduct that Canada does, and therefore that shouldn’t be a barrier to extradition.” Timeline hard to predict, professor says How long the case takes depends on a number of factors, Currie said. “In a lot of cases, the individual who is sought for extradition will actually concede that and say, ‘Yes, OK, I agree to go back to Canada.’ In which case, it can happen very quickly within a matter of weeks,” Currie said. “If this individual contests extradition, then he’s going to go through the French domestic extradition process.” Predicting a timeline is difficult either way, Currie said. He added the French justice system “is famous all over Europe for its delays,” which could stretch things out further. Currie said that in general, someone arrested abroad on an extradition warrant may be granted bail and allowed to remain locally, depending on the laws of that country — but they would not be free to leave “except in really exceptional circumstances.” People in that situation are typically made to surrender their passports. “What’s key is that, in a case like this, the individual stays in France until the French extradition process has run its course,” he added. The university alleges Black-Branch misappropriated more than $660,000 in funds. The alleged expenditures include accommodation, meals and professional development fees, including costs linked to Harvard University. The university sued him to recoup the funds in the Court of King’s Bench of Manitoba and was awarded default judgment in May 2025 for $679,269.98 plus legal costs and interest. Court filings list Black-Branch’s last known address as England, but note “some suspicion” he’d since moved to Switzerland. Black-Branch was disbarred by the Law Society of Manitoba in February 2024, and later disbarred by the Bar Standards Board for England and Wales as well. CTV News has reached out to the French Ministry of Justice for further details on the extradition case. The fraud charge against Black-Branch has not been proven in court.
