SPECIAL REPORT - Disclosure Cloud Hangs Over RCMP’s Project Severo

In Part Two of our Project Severo series, a hidden document raises troubling questions about what police and prosecutors knew, what the defence was not told, and whether the court heard the full story.

By Fabian Dawson
Mata Press Service

The troubled foreign interference case against former Mountie William Majcher has closed under a serious disclosure cloud after it emerged that a proffer from an alleged unindicted co-conspirator was in police and Crown hands but was never disclosed to the defence or placed before the court.

Mata Press Service has learned that the undisclosed document, an Aug. 21, 2023, proffer from retired RCMP officer Kenneth “Kim” Marsh, appears to have offered a lawful civil and commercial explanation for what the RCMP and federal prosecutors were treating as foreign interference.

That non-disclosure raises questions about whether the defence was denied access to material that may have undercut the Crown’s case or supported an alternative explanation for the conduct at the centre of the prosecution.

Defence counsel Ian Donaldson said he has no knowledge of the proffer, a legal term generally used to describe a statement, summary or offer of evidence setting out what a witness would say or what information they are providing to investigators or prosecutors.

Marsh had been subpoenaed as a crown witness, making the prosecution’s decision to close its case without calling him especially striking. Crown counsel Ryan Carrier did not respond to requests for comment about the proffer.

The case stems from allegations linked to China’s so-called Fox Hunt campaign, Beijing’s global effort to track down and repatriate people accused of economic crimes, sometimes through pressure outside formal legal channels.

Majcher has plead not guilty to one count under the Security of Information Act. The Crown alleges that in May and June 2017, he acted for, or in association with, Chinese authorities in an effort to pressure Vancouver-area businessman Hongwei “Kevin” Sun to return to China with his assets.

Sun has publicly said Majcher never approached or pressured him, and that he had no connection to Majcher in that context.

Without commenting directly on the case, Vancouver-based lawyer, Joven Narwal said the withholding of exculpatory evidence from any accused is among the gravest constitutional violations Canada’s justice system recognizes.

“The duty of disclosure was forged in the wreckage of Canada's worst wrongful convictions and it exists because we have learned, at terrible human cost, that when the state fails to disclose, the innocent will be wrongfully convicted,” he said.

“This is why the Supreme Court of Canada in Stinchcombe made disclosure a constitutional obligation,” he said, referring to the landmark ruling that requires prosecutors to provide the defence with all relevant material in their possession, including information that may help the accused or weaken the Crown’s case.

Retired Vancouver police officer Paul McNamara, who has been following the case said anytime the police or crown withhold information or evidence from the defence the risk of wrongful conviction increases and the administration of justice is brought into dispute.

“Full disclosure is the cornerstone of fairness,” he said.

In a statement after the crown and defence made their final submissions, Marsh said he is relieved that the trial has concluded, but that he was “deeply disappointed” that he was not called to testify after waiting for the opportunity to clear his name.

“I believe this court was not told the full story, and that my evidence would have helped show how flawed the investigation really was,’ said Marsh, a veteran Mountie who retired after a 25-year career, having served as a commander of an organized crime investigative unit and recognized for his work in private investigations, anti-money laundering compliance, and for speaking out on foreign interference in Canada.

“I provided a detailed 45-page report on Kevin Sun to the RCMP. To my knowledge, no action was taken on that material. Instead, my home was searched under a warrant the court later found to be unlawful,” he said.

“The RCMP publicly identified me as an unindicted co-conspirator, later described me as a target of their investigation, and then sought to position me as a witness but for reasons known only to them did not allow me to take the stand.”

Marsh said his life has been turned upside down since he was publicly named as an unindicted co-conspirator when charges against Majcher were first laid, drawing significant global media coverage.

“My home was searched, my name was dragged through the mud, and years later I still haven’t been cleared. I’ve had to file complaints with the RCMP and the Public Prosecution Service just to get answers. The damage to my reputation, my work, and my family is something I’m still living with every day,” he said.

“I will continue to pursue every avenue available to clear my name and seek accountability for how this investigation and prosecution was conducted.”

Another potential witness, former RCMP Supt. Calvin Chrustie, was also not called to testify.

Chrustie was important to the investigation because he had visited Marsh’s office years earlier to discuss the Sun matter and later gave the information he obtained to police. Investigators used his account to help build the theory that Marsh was working with Majcher and may have been his “go-to guy” in Canada for “locating someone or something.”

The court, however, in a pretrial decision rejected Chrustie’s inference, finding it was based on bare assertions and speculation rather than evidence.

The final submissions by the crown and defence, heard over three days before Justice Martha Devlin laid bare two sharply opposing narratives.

The Crown argued Majcher was preparing to coerce a Canadian resident for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China, while the defence said the case rests on speculation, inference and a few ambiguous lines from a 2017 email rather than proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

Justice Devlin said she will render her verdict on May 13.

Fabian Dawson is a veteran Vancouver-based journalist who has been following this case for the last four years. During his tenure as the deputy editor of the Vancouver Sun and The Province, he has worked with both William Majcher and Kenneth Marsh, on several media investigations.