Top Mountie became a “hitman” for spying for China

Meicher, a financial crime specialist, is the president of Hong Kong-based asset recovery firm EMIDR. foreign interference in Canada.

60-year-old William Mycher faces charges related to “attempting to identify and intimidate a person” after a two-year investigation into his activities.

He is charged with making preparatory acts on behalf of a foreign person and conspiracy.

Authorities said more arrests could be made in the coming weeks.

Mr Maicher, a former RCMP inspector who handled drugs and financial crime, was arrested in Vancouver on Thursday after arriving from Hong Kong to visit family.

The RCMP said in a statement that Mr. Meicher “allegedly used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services for the benefit of the People's Republic of China.”

Bill Meicher has been arrested and charged with foreign interference as part of a broader investigation into Beijing's alleged aggression in Canada. d an individual on behalf of China.

Mr. Meicher, who retired from the RCMP in 2007, worked as a subcontractor for companies tasked with recovering money and assets stolen from China and taken to countries such as Canada, the United States, and Australia.

In a 2019 interview with ABC News, Mr. Meicher said, “I'm a mercenary who helps large corporations or governments take back what is rightfully theirs.” court in Longueuil, Quebec. Friday.

RCMP Insp. David Beaudoin told The Toronto Star: “We have to understand that in the world of debt collection, when people are asked to collect debts and everything, there is a proper way to do it, and there is a way that is illegal,” he said.

“Our contention at this point, and what we present to the court, is that his actions went completely beyond what is considered acceptable under Canadian law.”

He added: “This file, this particular project, is not completed. We do not rule out that in the coming weeks we may arrest and charge even more people.”

This happened after opposition parties accused Justin Trudeau of being soft on China. The prime minister has resisted calls for a public inquiry into the country's activities in Canada.

Beijing operatives in Canada are believed to have tried to undermine elected officials who criticize the country's human rights record.

Earlier this year, the government expelled a Chinese diplomat who a Canadian intelligence agency alleges was involved in a plot to intimidate an opposition MP and his relatives in Hong Kong.

Ki Thai officials deny any interference.

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