Retired RCMP officer charged in foreign interference case
William Majcher, 60, allegedly helped Chinese government intimidate individual unlawfully
A retired RCMP officer has been charged with foreign interference, the Mounties said in a news release Friday.
William Majcher, 60, "allegedly used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People's Republic of China," the RCMP in Montreal said in the news release.
The release alleged that Majcher "contributed to the Chinese government's efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the scope of Canadian law."
The alleged foreign interference did not involve elections or politics, an RCMP spokesperson said.
Cpl. Tasha Adams told Radio-Canada that Majcher works for a firm based in Hong Kong that was collecting information about an individual in Canada.
That information was being gathered on behalf of China, which wanted to target the person in question, Adams said. She added she did not know the nationality of the person being targeted.
Police said Majcher is from Hong Kong. He appeared in court in Longueuil, Que. by videoconference on Friday. He is charged with preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity and conspiracy.
Both alleged offences fall under the Security of Information Act.
The RCMP said their Integrated National Security Team (INSET) launched an investigation into Majcher's "suspicious activities" in fall of 2021.
INSETs are multi-agency teams scattered across the country — sometimes made up of RCMP officers, provincial and municipal police service members and representatives of federal agencies — which investigate cases concerning national security, extremism and terrorism.
Insp. David Beaudoin, the head of Montreal's INSET, told CBC the investigation was launched through a complaint-driven process, but the complaint didn't come from the victim.
Beaudoin said Majcher was arrested Thursday in Vancouver, but the investigation is taking place in Quebec because Majcher spent most of his RCMP career in B.C. He was with the force from 1985 to 2007.
"Because of those links, the national security program of the RCMP deemed it necessary to assign the file to a different unit," he said.
Majcher's next court appearance is expected next week.
Accused worked on money laundering cases
Beaudoin said the investigation examines alleged incidents taking place between 2014 and 2019.
Majcher's LinkedIn page says he worked on a number of money laundering investigations as a covert operator while serving with the RCMP.
In 2006 he moved to Hong Kong, where he has been working as a risk assessment adviser for the investment banking sector, says his LinkedIn profile.
According to his profile on the Hong Kong-based website Speakers Connect, Majcher founded a corporate risk firm called EMIDR in 2016.
EMIDR's website lists state-sponsored espionage, intelligence gathering and money laundering as some of its areas of expertise. It also says the firm specializes in asset recovery.
An Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) article from 2019 said Majcher was part of Project Dragon, a Chinese operation to recover money allegedly siphoned out of the country illegally.
In the article, Majcher is quoted as saying he is a "hired gun" for governments and corporations to "get back what is rightfully theirs." In terms of Project Dragon, he told ABC that he was working for a third-party "entity" that was associated with Chinese police "in some form or another."
Adams told CBC the evidence "appears" to suggest the Chinese government was one of Majcher's clients. But Beaudoin said the RCMP is unable to state whether these charges are related to Majcher's past employment.
With files from Kate McKenna