Pamela Porter court documents allege fraud, use of shell companies
Newly released court documents related to the guilty plea of Pamela Porter offer a glimpse into an allegedly complicated system of money laundering involving international bank accounts, all connected to the alleged McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) fraud.
On Friday morning in a Montreal courtroom, Quebec Court Judge Claude Leblond partially lifted a publication ban on parts of Pamela Porter’s guilty plea.
Porter is the wife of Arthur Porter, the former director general and CEO of the MUHC. She pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering last month.
The documents outline shell companies owned by the Porters, allegedly used to wire $22-million from SNC-Lavalin International.
Money wired to shell companies
According to the documents filed in support of the guilty plea, investigators tracked financial transactions and discovered that Arthur Porter’s shell company, Sierra Asset Management, received payment from SNC-Lavalin International just weeks following the announcement that SNC-Lavalin had been awarded the MUHC contract.
Sierra Asset Management allegedly transferred $9.92 million into Pamela Porter’s shell company, Regent Hamilton.
Regent Hamilton was registered in the Bahamas, where Pamela Porter was residing.
Neither of the two companies – Regent Hamilton or Sierra Asset Management – have had any known business transactions, according to the documents.
Pamela Porter said she was merely a figurehead in the alleged fraud and had no role in orchestrating the scheme.
However, the joint statement of facts says bank managers told her they considered the transactions in her account "problematic" and wanted to meet with her to discuss them.
She allegedly still continued to draw money from the account, even after she knew her husband was wanted for fraud.
The joint statement of facts names other people involved with the alleged MUHC fraud, including brothers Yanai and Yohann Elbaz, who allegedly created a shell company to hold $11 million in illicit payments.
None of the allegations contained in the documents have been tested in court.
The preliminary inquiry for the other alleged fraudsters is scheduled to start in March.
