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 extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain information or services for the benefit of the People’s Republic of China,” RCMP in Montreal said in the news release.
The statement 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 spokesman said.
Cpl. Tasha Adams told Radio-Canada that Majcher works for a Hong Kong-based company that collected information about a person in Canada.
That information was being collected on behalf of China, which wanted to target the individual in question, Adams said. He added that he did not know the nationality of the person targeted.
Police said Majcher is from Hong Kong. He appeared in court in Longueuil, Que. by video conference on Friday. He is accused of preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity and conspiracy.
Both alleged offenses are subject to the Information Security Act.
LOOK | Expert says charges against ex-RCMP officer ‘disturbing’ 
Foreign interference charges against retired RCMP officer ‘very disturbing’: expert
A retired RCMP officer has been accused of foreign interference. William Majcher is accused of helping the Chinese government to illegally intimidate a person. It’s not the first time someone who worked for the RCMP is alleged to have leaked information for personal gain, says national security analyst Stephanie Carvin.
The RCMP said its Integrated Homeland Security Team (INSET) launched an investigation into Majcher’s “suspicious activities” in the fall of 2021.
INSETs are multi-agency teams spread across the country, sometimes made up of RCMP officers, members of the provincial and municipal police, and representatives of federal agencies, that investigate cases related to national security, extremism and terrorism.
Inspector David Beaudoin, the head of Montreal’s INSET, told CBC that the investigation was initiated through a whistle-blowing process, but that the complaint did not come from the victim.
Beaudoin said Majcher was arrested Thursday in Vancouver, but the investigation is being conducted in Quebec because Majcher spent most of his RCMP career in BC. He was with the force from 1985 to 2007.
“Due to these links, the RCMP’s national security program found it necessary to assign the file to a different unit,” he said.
Majcher’s next court appearance is scheduled for next week.
The accused worked in money laundering cases
Beaudoin said the investigation is looking into alleged incidents that occurred between 2014 and 2019.
Majcher’s LinkedIn page says he worked on several money laundering investigations as an undercover operator while working with the RCMP.
In 2006, he moved to Hong Kong, where he has been working as a risk assessment consultant for the investment banking industry, his LinkedIn profile says.
According to his profile on Hong Kong’s Speakers Connect website, Majcher founded a corporate venture firm called EMIDR in 2016.
EMIDR’s website lists state-sponsored espionage, intelligence gathering and money laundering as some of its areas of expertise. He also says the company specializes in asset recovery.
An 2019 Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) article 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 that he is a “gun for hire” for governments and corporations to “take back what is rightfully theirs.” As for Project Dragon, he told the ABC that he worked for a third-party “entity” that was associated with the Chinese police “in one form or another.”
Adams told CBC that evidence is “emerging” to suggest the Chinese government was one of Majcher’s clients. But Beaudoin said the RCMP cannot say whether those charges are related to Majcher’s previous employment.
