Controversial stay: Trudeau on vacation with a man linked to the Paradise Papers A luxurious villa
The luxurious house that Justin Trudeau and his family occupied last week in British Columbia belongs to a Calgary woman, married to a businessman who was linked to companies that were established in a tax haven, said discovered our Bureau of Investigation.
• Also read: Luxury stay in an $18.7 million house in Tofino
• Read also: Trudeau apologizes
• Also read: James McRoberts boosted online pot sales
This businessman, James McRoberts, also founded a company that registered in 2017 to lobby pro-cannabis, in particular with the cabinet of Justin Trudeau.
The name of James McRoberts, husband of Merrin McRoberts (the owner of the Tofino house), appears in the Paradise Papers list, released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists in 2017.
Photo taken from the Sotheby's International websiteThe residence that hosted the Trudeaus in British Columbia offers unparalleled luxury and comfort.We learn that he was a shareholder in two companies, PayGea Limited and RX Payments Limited, incorporated in Malta from 2005, a Mediterranean tax haven. Firms specialize in internet payment systems.
The man who ran RX Payments, Nathan Jacobson, was convicted in 2008 in the United States of money laundering conspiracy.
Note that the Paradise Papers should not be confused with the Pandora Papers, which were released this week by the Consortium, and which also reveal a list of individuals and companies involved in anti-terrorism activities. 'tax evasion.
Controversial vacation
Photo REUTERSJustin Trudeau admitted on Wednesday that he made a mistake by staying in Tofino last week.
Prime Minister Trudeau has come under heavy criticism since last week for spending a family vacation in a plush Tofino home rather than attending the first-ever National Day activities of Truth and Reconciliation, dedicated to Indigenous Peoples.
Wednesday, at a press conference, he admitted that he had made a mistake by staying in this villa.
Nestled on the edge of the Pacific, the tastefully appointed home is currently for sale at a cost of $18.7 million. In the sales documents, Ms.me McRoberts is identified as a Calgary businesswoman.
Photo from Sotherby's International websiteMoved to London
According to our research, she has lived in London since the beginning of 2020 with her husband, James. The couple is very discreet on the internet. The only photo we could find of Mr. McRoberts is that of his visit to a parliamentary committee in Quebec City in 2017, when he came to promote an online payment platform for cannabis.
Mr. McRoberts is a businessman who has been very active in Canada. He has been involved in the launch of companies linked to online sales systems.
Called to respond, Mr. Trudeau's office finally confirmed that the Prime Minister had paid for his stay and that of his family in the Tofino house, after our Bureau of Investigation insisted on obtaining the information. However, it was impossible to obtain the amount paid by Mr. Trudeau. The stay was nevertheless approved by the Federal Ethics Commissioner.
The Prime Minister's Office would not comment on Mrs. McRoberts' husband appearing in the Paradise Papers.
– With the collaboration of Marie Christine Trottier
Who is James McRoberts?
Photo taken from the site of the National Assembly of QuebecJames McRoberts, during his visit to the parliamentary committee in Quebec City, in 2017.Photo taken from the site of Sotheby's InternationalThe residence that hosted the Trudeaus in British Columbia offers unparalleled luxury and comfort. same.Payment for controversial activities
Companies linked to James McRoberts have been used to offer payment services for controversial activities that the big internet payment platforms do not want to associate with.
According to a judgment of the Superior Court of Quebec dated 2010, Paygea would have been used by two Montrealers to sell online "products made in China, in particular copies of television series on DVD, designer clothes or copies of watches from well-known brands”.
In this judgment, the two Montrealers were forced to pay more than $1 million to Paygea because the products sold were not delivered.
Customers would have used their credit card to buy them. The money would have been paid by Visa or MasterCard to Paygea, which would then have transferred it to the firms of the two Montrealers.
As the goods were not delivered, Paygea had to bear the cost of the refund.
In a procedure in the United States in 2012, Paygea also appears as a payment facilitator for a firm linked to the owner of Brazzers, a pornographic website.
According to the Israeli financial newspaper Globes, Paygea left Israel in 2012, after leaving debts of several hundred thousand dollars with suppliers.
A former company executive, Shlomi Levy, is quoted in the article as saying that the company allowed payments to soft porn sites.
Illegal drugs
In the case of RX Payments, US authorities alleged in a 2006 lawsuit that the firm was used to make payments related to the illegal sale of prescription drugs online.
The then president of RX Payments, Nathan Jacobson, admitted conspiracy to engage in money laundering and pleaded guilty to one count in the case.
Nathan Jacobson, who appears in the Paradise Papers as the legal representative of Paygea and RX Payments, later sued his lawyer claiming he was misrepresented.
The Paradise Papers in brief
Do you have information to share?
Write to us:
