RCMP officer charged with foreign interference
Posted July 21, 2023 11:42 am.
Last Updated July 21, 2023 12:15 pm.
A retired Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) officer was charged on Friday with obtaining information for China and other foreign-interference related charges.
Sixty-year-old William Majcher of Hong Kong, appeared by videoconference at the Longueuil courthouse on Friday. He faces two charges: preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign entity and conspiracy.
Police say he is from Hong Kong and used his network of Canadian contacts to get intelligence or services that benefited the People’s Republic of China.
“According to the investigation, Mr. Majcher used his knowledge and vast network of contacts in Canada to obtain information or services that would have benefited the People’s Republic of China,” reads a press release issued by the RCMP.
They say a national security investigation into Majcher’s suspicious activities began in the fall of 2021.
The man “would have contributed to the Chinese government’s efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the framework of Canadian law”, according to the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) investigation.
Police have not said who was the target of Beijing’s alleged intimidation campaign.
