Retired RCMP officer charged with helping Beijing intimidation campaign

OTTAWA — The RCMP has charged one of its former members in a foreign interference investigation, alleging he helped the Chinese government identify and intimidate a person.

Police say William Majcher, who is from Hong Kong, used his network of Canadian contacts to obtain intelligence or services that benefited the People’s Republic of China. They also say the case does not have to do with election interference.

“The evidence leads us to believe that his professional activities on Canadian territory would have enabled him to collect information to identify and put himself in a position of intimidation against an individual targeted by the People’s Republic of China,” said RCMP Cpl. Tasha Adams in an email.

Majcher was arrested in Vancouver on Thursday and appeared by videoconference in a Longueuil, Que., court Friday. He is being held in custody until another court date Tuesday.

A court document citing the charges says the alleged offences happened between 2014 and 2019. It also says police allege Majcher conspired with others, including a man named Kenneth Ingram Marsh.

A LinkedIn profile for Majcher said he is working in investment banking in Hong Kong at EMIDR Limited, a company he co-founded, providing expertise on money laundering and financial crime risk.

It said he worked undercover in “the largest money laundering and securities fraud investigation in North America.” Majcher was the lead investigator in the case of B.C. lawyer Martin Chambers, who was sentenced to 15 years in jail in the United States for money laundering in 2003.

Majcher’s LinkedIn also said he helped train Canada’s national security enforcement team.

That team began an investigation into Majcher’s suspicious activities in the fall of 2021, the RCMP said Friday in a press release.

The 60-year-old is charged under the Security of Information Act with conspiracy and preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity.

Police have not said who was the target of Beijing’s alleged intimidation campaign.

Majcher was employed by the RCMP from 1985 until 2007.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2023.

The Canadian Press