Welcome to Cases That Should Have Gone to the Supreme Court of Canada, But Didn’t! This week, lawyer Kyla Lee discusses the proper interpretation of “proceeds of crime”.
Acumen Law Corporation lawyer Kyla Lee gives her take on a made-in-Canada court case each week and discusses why these cases should have been heard by Canada’s highest court: the Supreme Court of Canada.
George Georgiou was convicted in the United States of conspiracy and fraud. He was sentenced to 30 years in prison and a $26 million award was made against him under the civil forfeiture process. Ultimately, under an agreement between various countries, the Royal Bank of Canada discovered an account in the name of a Mr. Emanuel that it in fact believed to belong to Mr. Georgiou. There was $9.2 million in that account which was seized by the US government. Mr. Emanuel tried to get his money back and was unsuccessful and Mr. Georgiou applied to the court for an order that the seizure was invalid and that the money needed to be returned.
The Supreme Court of Canada denied leave to hear the appeal of Mr. Georgiou’s unsuccessful claim to have the funds returned. This case raises very interesting questions regarding the role the government has in inspecting all of your information when you’ve been convicted of offences in other jurisdictions.
The SCC missed an opportunity here explain why it has to be so heavy handed in these types of cases or alternatively, to stop any further damage.
Watch the video for more.
