Extradition of alleged ringleader of Edmonton extortion scheme will be waiting game, experts say
Maninder Singh Dhaliwal currently detained in the United Arab Emirates
Extraditing the accused ringleader of an Edmonton extortion scheme from the United Arab Emirates will be a complex, time-consuming process that will leave his prosecution in Canada in limbo.
An expert in extradition law says federal officials may rely on an international convention designed to combat organized crime in their attempt to return Maninder Singh Dhaliwal to Canadian soil.
Dhaliwal, 35, is accused of orchestrating a series of arsons targeting home builders in Edmonton's South Asian community.
The string of threats and fires, allegedly directed by Dhaliwal from overseas, resulted in a years-long police investigation dubbed Project Gaslight.
Edmonton police have requested that Dhaliwal, a Canadian citizen, be extradited to Canada to face trial.
Months after a Canada-wide warrant was issued for his arrest in connection with Project Gaslight, Dhaliwal was apprehended late last year in the United Arab Emirates on separate charges.
Rob Currie, a professor of international law at the Schulich School of Law at Dalhousie University, says the timeline for Dhaliwal's possible surrender to Canada remains murky.
"At this point, they have to wait," said Currie, an expert in extradition law. "It's entirely possible that he will face trial there before he's ever extradited to Canada."
Ravi Hira, a criminal lawyer who has acted as Crown and defence on extradition cases, said many questions remain about Dhaliwal's legal fate.
It would be unusual but not impossible for the Emirates to surrender a person to Canada, Hira said.
The countries have no formal extradition treaty.
The U.A.E. will ultimately decide if and when Dhaliwal appears in a Canadian courtroom, Hira said. He said Dhaliwal's status as a Canadian could expedite the process.
"There is a rule book, but you can waive the rule book," Hira said.
"They may want to have him tried and serve the sentence first before acceding to any extradition request … They have jurisdiction to decide what goes first."
Organized crime convention
As there is no formal bilateral extradition treaty between Canada and the U.A.E., Currie said Dhaliwal's surrender to Canada would instead be guided by an international treaty that can be enacted when a case involves allegations of organized crime.
Canada and the Emirates are parties to the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, a legally binding treaty.
Currie said the international convention acts as a backup to the formalized extradition treaties that "more friendly" countries share.
With the convention in place, it's unlikely that the Emirates will refuse to extradite Dhaliwal, Currie said.
The charges against Dhaliwal in Alberta include extortion, arson, and other counts linked to committing an offence in association with organized crime — conspiracy to commit extortion and arson, as well as commissioning those crimes on behalf of a criminal organization.
"This is an organized crime case, clearly. And the treaty was designed to do exactly this, to allow countries that don't normally have extradition relations to have them when a case comes up," Currie said.
"They're going to use that treaty, which imposes an obligation on the U.A.E. to extradite him to us at some point."
Federal government officials have been tight-lipped about the extradition proceedings.
Officials with the Department of Justice Canada told CBC that extradition requests are confidential "state-to-state communications."
Under Canada's Extradition Act, the International Assistance Group within the federal Department of Justice handles all extradition requests in Canada and functions as an intermediary between Canada and the foreign state.
When asked about Dhaliwal, Global Affairs Canada said only that was aware of the detention of a Canadian citizen in the U.A.E.
Edmonton police say they don't know what charges Dhaliwal faces in the Emirates or the status of his case there.
Project Gaslight
Dhaliwal's arrest and impending extradition wraps up the Edmonton Police Service investigation into the extortion scheme known as Project Gaslight.
Officers investigated 40 incidents, including arsons, drive-by shootings and firearms offences, but police say the crimes have ceased since last July, when the final arson was reported.
Investigators allege that Dhaliwal is responsible for orchestrating the scheme from abroad — recruiting people in Edmonton, and paying them to deliver threats and later set properties on fire when demands for money transfers went unmet.
"This outcome shows criminals that international borders will not protect them, and we will not tolerate this kind of violence in our community, no matter where it originates from," EPS Insp. Duane Hunter said in a statement last week when the extradition request was made public.
Case on hold
Police said Dhaliwal's case will proceed in the Alberta Court of King's Bench. But the prosecution will remain on hold until Dhaliwal is released into Canadian custody.
If the extradition is granted, an RCMP officer would travel to the Emirates to execute an Interpol warrant and bring Dhaliwal home.
He would be remanded into custody until a bail hearing is set. Since Dhaliwal has not been arrested in Canada, the prosecution must sit idle, Hira said.
A criminal proceeding in which the person being tried is not present can only occur when the charges have already been sworn.
"He hasn't been served," Hira said. "Trials in absentia, we don't do that."
Court proceedings for Dhaliwal's alleged accomplices, however, are well underway.
Five adults charged last year in connection with Project Gaslight are expected to return to an Edmonton courtroom next week.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
