Murray Wood: Feint by numbers?
The City of Regina is using some interesting math to justify why it should sell a big chunk of its exhibition associatio...
VANCOUVER — The actions of a former RCMP officer accused of violating security law for the benefit of Chinese authorities were an affront to Canadian sovereignty, a Crown prosecutor told British Columbia Supreme Court on Friday.
William Majcher pleaded not guilty to one charge under Canada’s Security of Information Act as his judge-alone trial got underway in Vancouver this week.
The Crown alleged he planned to use the threat of arrest to coerce a Vancouver-area resident and real estate mogul to comply with Chinese government demands.
Prosecutor Ryan Carrier told Justice Martha Devlin in his closing submissions on Friday that evidence shows the target was Hongwei Sun, also known as Kevin Sun, who was wanted by the Chinese government for financial crimes.
He said Sun was accused of defrauding the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and absconding to Canada with about $120 million in the early 2000s.
Majcher, meanwhile, had moved to Hong Kong following his retirement from the RCMP in 2007 and founded an asset recovery firm called EMIDR.
Carrier said he acted as a proxy for Chinese police in pursuit of Sun, taking steps to help them do an “end-run” around an RCMP decision to halt their assistance in the case.
Carrier said Chinese police were able to “project” their power beyond China’s borders into Canada, constituting unauthorized foreign interference.
He said Majcher’s alleged actions constituted an “affront” to Canadian sovereignty and posed a serious threat to Sun, a Canadian permanent resident.
“Mr. Majcher took steps to use the spectre of (Chinese) criminal pursuit and criminal proceedings as the means to induce the permanent resident of Canada, living in Canada at the time, to acquiesce to the demands of a foreign government.”
Carrier said states seeking help with criminal investigations related to subjects in other countries must approach such requests with respect for sovereignty.
China’s interest in investigating Sun does not “trump Canada’s interest” in ensuring its own sovereignty is respected and maintained, and that the rights of a permanent resident accused of a crime abroad are respected on Canadian soil, he said.
Carrier said Majcher is charged under the section of Canada’s security legislation that deals with preparing to commit an offence under the same law, including actions for the benefit of or in association with a foreign entity or terrorist group.
The Crown is not required to prove the foreign entity directed the actions of the accused, or that the offence was committed primarily for its benefit, he said.
The trial has heard Majcher sent an email to a colleague in 2017 related to an effort to recover proceeds from a fraud matching the details of Sun’s alleged crime.
Carrier quoted Majcher as writing in the email that he hoped to “impress upon the crook that we hold the keys to his future.”
An earlier court ruling indicates Majcher added “the Chinese want to use this as a precedent case to settle economic crimes quietly and expeditiously.”
The ruling also includes an email in which Majcher apparently wrote that if the “target” co-operated, he hoped to settle the matter within a few weeks.
“If he fights then (there) will be extradition request and lengthier process but we feel he is motivated to co-operate as we can guarantee him his passport and no jail time.”
Carrier told Devlin on Friday that Majcher’s intended message for Sun was the Chinese government “is coming for you.”
He said only Chinese authorities would be in a position to make promises that Sun would receive a passport and avoid jail time if he co-operated.
“They’re the ones behind the offer.”
Carrier told Devlin a “veiled reference” may constitute an extortion threat.
The trial previously heard Chinese police sought the RCMP’s help to arrest Sun, but Supt. Peter Tsui, a former liaison officer in Beijing, testified Monday that the Mounties didn’t receive enough information to make a determination.
Tsui said Chinese authorities then changed their approach and asked if they could speak to Sun, but he refused, asserting they “couldn’t touch him” in Canada. The Mounties concluded their assistance in the case around March 2017.
The RCMP had given Chinese authorities a “hard no” and they turned to Majcher only months later, Carrier told Devlin on Friday.
The trial was later adjourned until Monday, when Majcher’s defence lawyer, Ian Donaldson, is set to make his closing submissions.
The Crown had abruptly closed its case on Wednesday, moments before prosecutors were expected to call a witness in relation to Majcher’s 2017 email.
The move prompted Donaldson to ask for an adjournment until Thursday, when he told Devlin he would not be calling any evidence.
Before the trial, the court found Majcher’s arrest at Vancouver’s airport in 2023 occurred without reasonable or probable grounds, breaching his Charter rights.
The court had also ruled that a warrant authorizing a search of another former Mountie’s home as part of the investigation into Majcher was invalid.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.
Brenna Owen, The Canadian Press
