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New details about $20M Toronto airport gold heist revealed in Brink’s suit against Air Canada
In a statement of claim filed in Federal Court and first reported by Glen McGregor on Substack, Brink’s says the shipment of gold and cash was delivered to Air Canada in Zurich, a Swiss financial centre, and loaded aboard Air Canada Flight AC881, a daily passenger and cargo flight to Toronto, on April 17.
Brink’s claims Air Canada provided woeful security despite knowing the high-value contents of the load.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
Air Canada would not comment on the lawsuit, the heist, or the allegations.
The money, declared as “BANKNOTES”, was being shipped to the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange, according to the lawsuit.
Around the same time, Valcambi SA, a precious metals refining company in Switzerland, hired Brink’s to transport 400.19 kilos of gold — valued at more than $20.4 million — to Toronto.
The gold, declared as “GOLDBARS”, was being sent to the Toronto Dominion Bank in Toronto, the suit says.
The two shipments were combined into one air cargo container about the size of a large office desk.
The plane landed at Toronto’s Pearson airport around 4:20 p.m. The shipping container was unloaded and moved to an Air Canada bonded warehouse at the edge of the airport at about 5:50 p.m., the lawsuit claims.
“Upon receipt of the Fraudulent Waybill, AC personnel released the Shipments to the unidentified individual, following which the unidentified individual absconded with the cargo,” the lawsuit claims.
“AC accepted the Fraudulent Waybill from the unidentified individual without verifying its authenticity in any way.
“Had AC made the necessary and appropriate inquiries in the circumstances, the unidentified individual’s ability to steal the cargo entrusted to its care would have been entirely avoided,” according to the Brink’s claim.
Brink’s sent the nature of the cargo contents, their declared values, and flight information to Air Canada by email when booking the cargo shipment, on or about April 14. The emails were confirmed by Air Canada the same day, according to the lawsuit.
“AC Secure ensures the safe and secure transportation of specific commodities including goods with a declared value of CAD/USD $1,000 per kilogram or more, or when a shipper purchases insurance in the same amount per kilogram, regardless of the commodity,” its website says.
Commodities using AC Secure often include gold, silver, gems, money, watches, jewelry, stocks and bonds.
AC Secure costs more than regular air shipments.
Brink’s transportation contract with the company means Brink’s took on responsibility for the value of the load if lost in transit.
Brink’s now seeks to redeem that loss from Air Canada.
The lawsuit accuses Air Canada of being “reckless in its operation of the AC Secure program” by failing to adequately secure the cargo.
Brink’s claims damages of 13.6 million Swiss Francs, representing the declared value of the missing gold, and US$1,945,843, the value of the missing money.
Brink’s also seeks special damages of an unspecified amount and costs of the legal action.
The lawsuit says that the company was notified in March of ongoing upgrades by Air Canada designed to “build an improved process” for AC Secure, including “better technology enhancements, handovers and (an) improved tracing method.”
But, the suit claims, the airline failed to implement improvements “properly or at all.”
The lawsuit was filed in Federal Court because international shipments are regulated by the Montreal Convention, an international treaty that is incorporated into Canadian law.
“This is still a very active ongoing investigation, and information will be released when investigators believe it will not interfere with the investigation’s integrity. At this time, we have no further information to release.”
Brink’s declined to comment beyond their statement of claim. TD Bank, Valcambi SA, and the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange did not respond to requests for comment prior to deadline.
WINNIPEG – Police in Winnipeg say one person has died and three more were injured after a pickup truck smashed into a bus shelter on Portage Avenue during the morning commute.
Police say those injured are in stable condition in hospital.
It began after a Ford F150 truck hit a pedestrian and bus shelter on Portage Avenue near Bedson Street before 8 a.m.
Another vehicle, a power pole and a gas station were also damaged before the truck came to a stop.
The crash forced commuters to be rerouted and knocked out power in the area for more than a thousand Manitoba Hydro customers.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
KAMLOOPS, B.C. – A 35-year-old man has been charged with second-degree murder after his mother’s body was found near her Kamloops, B.C., home a year ago.
Mounties say 57-year-old Jo-Anne Donovan was found dead about a week after she had been reported missing.
RCMP says its serious crime unit launched an investigation after the body was found.
Police say they arrested Brandon Donovan on Friday after the BC Prosecution Service approved the charge.
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Strength in the base metal and technology sectors helped Canada’s main stock index gain almost 100 points on Friday, while U.S. stock markets climbed to their best week of the year.
“It’s been almost a complete opposite or retracement of what we saw last week,” said Philip Petursson, chief investment strategist at IG Wealth Management.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 297.01 points at 41,393.78. The S&P 500 index was up 30.26 points at 5,626.02, while the Nasdaq composite was up 114.30 points at 17,683.98.
The S&P/TSX composite index closed up 93.51 points at 23,568.65.
While last week saw a “healthy” pullback on weaker economic data, this week investors appeared to be buying the dip and hoping the central bank “comes to the rescue,” said Petursson.
Next week, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut its key interest rate for the first time in several years after it significantly hiked it to fight inflation.
But the magnitude of that first cut has been the subject of debate, and the market appears split on whether the cut will be a quarter of a percentage point or a larger half-point reduction.
Petursson thinks it’s clear the smaller cut is coming. Economic data recently hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been that bad either, he said — and inflation may have come down significantly, but it’s not defeated just yet.
“I think they’re going to be very steady,” he said, with one small cut at each of their three decisions scheduled for the rest of 2024, and more into 2025.
“I don’t think there’s a sense of urgency on the part of the Fed that they have to do something immediately.
A larger cut could also send the wrong message to the markets, added Petursson: that the Fed made a mistake in waiting this long to cut, or that it’s seeing concerning signs in the economy.
It would also be “counter to what they’ve signaled,” he said.
More important than the cut — other than the new tone it sets — will be what Fed chair Jerome Powell has to say, according to Petursson.
“That’s going to be more important than the size of the cut itself,” he said.
In Canada, where the central bank has already cut three times, Petursson expects two more before the year is through.
“Here, the labour situation is worse than what we see in the United States,” he said.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.61 cents US compared with 73.58 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down 32 cents at US$68.65 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was down five cents at US$2.31 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$30.10 at US$2,610.70 an ounce and the December copper contract was up four cents US$4.24 a pound.
— With files from The Associated Press
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
One person dead, three injured and power knocked out in Winnipeg bus shelter crash
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