Airbus Affair - Cash Payments

Cash Payments

The Globe and Mail reported on November 1, 2007 that Mulroney, who had by his own admission received $75,000 of Schreiber's stated $300,000 in cash in New York City on December 8, 1994, should have declared those funds when he crossed the border into Canada several days later, if he had not already spent the money. The story quoted retired RCMP inspector Bruce Bowie, who had played a role in preparing the original Canadian legislation, requiring that large cash transactions be reported, which was passed through parliament during Mulroney's own prime ministership. Internal United States rules also require that large cash transactions be recorded, and whether Mulroney did so for this transaction was an open question, according to the Globe and Mail article.

On November 8, 2007, an affidavit, including further allegations by Mr. Schreiber, was filed with the court. The following day, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that a third-party independent inquiry would be launched to review the dealings between Schreiber and Mulroney, in the light of the additional allegations raised by this new development.

On November 13, 2007, Prime Minister Harper announced that a full public inquiry would take place. The next day, Harper announced that the probe would be headed by David Lloyd Johnston, president of the University of Waterloo. Johnston will advise on the terms of reference for the inquiry, and will report by January 11, 2008. The RCMP announced on November 14, 2007, that they would also open a review process into these matters; the RCMP had been involved in an investigation of these matters from the late 1980s onwards. In June 2008, the Government of Canada established the "Commission of Inquiry into Certain Allegations Respecting Business and Financial Dealings Between Karlheinz Schreiber and the Right Honourable Brian Mulroney"

On November 15, 2007, Schreiber lost his appeal of extradition to Germany, and he remained confined in the Toronto area, pending further developments. Extradition proceedings against Schreiber, launched by German authorities, began in 1999; Schreiber is wanted in Germany to answer for several criminal charges, including fraud and bribery, which had a role in bringing down a government there, and which damaged the legacy of former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. Schreiber stated on November 16, 2007 that if extradited, he would not cooperate with the inquiry. Minister of Public Safety Stockwell Day said later that day that the inquiry would be structured to allow witnesses to testify regardless of their location, and that Schreiber would have to testify. Opposition parties in the Canadian House of Commons called for Schreiber's extradition to be delayed, to allow him to take part in the inquiry. Minister of Justice Rob Nicholson promised to delay the extradition until at least December 1, 2007, to allow potential appeals to be filed by Schreiber's lawyer Edward Greenspan.