Retired RCMP Officer Charged With Foreign Interference, Providing Intel to China

The RCMP logo is seen outside Royal Canadian Mounted Police "E" Division Headquarters, in Surrey, B.C., on April 13, 2018. Darryl Dyck/The Canadian Press

A retired RCMP officer accused of providing intelligence to China has been arrested and charged with foreign interference, according to the Mounties.

William Majcher, 60, allegedly “used his knowledge and his extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services to benefit the People’s Republic of China,” the RCMP said in a statement on July 21.

“It is alleged that he contributed to the Chinese government’s efforts to identify and intimidate an individual outside the scope of Canadian law,” the statement said.

Mr. Majcher, who has been living in Hong Kong, was first arrested upon arriving at the Vancouver airport on July 18 and later released, RCMP Cpl. Tasha Adams told The Epoch Times in an email statement. He was arrested again in the evening of July 20 after charges were laid at the Longueuil courthouse and an arrest warrant was obtained.

Mr. Majcher’s arrest comes after the Integrated National Security Enforcement Team (INSET) launched an investigation in the fall of 2021 regarding his “suspicious activities,” RCMP said.

“The evidence leads us to believe that his professional activities on Canadian territory would have enabled him to collect information to identify and put himself in a position of intimidation against an individual targeted by the People’s Republic of China,” Ms. Adams said.

Ms. Adams noted that while Mr. Majcher’s “network of contacts” is based in British Columbia, his case is being investigated by the Quebec RCMP’s INSET due to a need to maintain “the integrity of the investigation.”

Attempts by The Epoch Times to contact Mr. Majcher for comment were unsuccessful.

Substantial Connections

According to Mr. Majcher’s profile on LinkedIn, he served with the RCMP from 1985 to 2007. He served in several capacities during that time, including investigations into drug-related and financial crimes, INSET Insp. David Beaudoin told The Epoch Times.

The police haven’t found any indication that Mr. Majcher’s alleged criminal activities occurred during his service with the RCMP, Mr. Beaudoin said.

Mr. Beaudoin, who is in charge of the Montreal INSET, noted that Mr. Majcher’s “network of connections is quite substantial in Canada. I don’t believe it limits itself to British Columbia. However, I will confirm that that’s where he spent most of his service with the RCMP. So therefore, yes, there’s a good part of his network that is in British Columbia.”

As the investigation into the case continues, “it is quite possible that we might find ourselves in a situation to conduct more arrests and lay more criminal charges,” Mr. Beaudoin said.

Following his departure from the RCMP, Mr. Majcher took on a number of roles in different entities in Hong Kong, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is currently the president and global head of recovery operations with EMIDR Limited, a corporate risk firm that specialized in cyberwarfare.

Mr. Majcher appeared at the Longueuil courthouse in Quebec by videoconference on July 21. He is charged with two counts under the Security of Information Act, including preparatory acts for the benefit of a foreign entity and conspiracy. He has been remanded to the B.C. Correctional Services where he will be detained until his videoconference appearance before the Longueuil Court on July 25.

The RCMP said in its statement that foreign interference is likely to undermine Canada’s democratic and judicial processes and threaten the country’s sovereignty, and that the force’s partners are working with vulnerable sectors to improve Canada’s response and resiliency to potential threats.

The RCMP arrested another person in Canada in November 2022 on suspicion of spying for China. Yuesheng Wang, a former employee at Hydro Quebec, was the first person to be charged with economic espionage under Canada’s Security of Information Act.

Forced Repatriation

The Chinese communist regime is known for its global covert operations of forced repatriation, such as “Operation Fox Hunt” and “Sky Net.” While Beijing said its operations were to target its nationals who have committed financial crimes, reports have shown that Chinese dissidents have also been targeted.

According to a 2022 study published by the Spain-based NGO, Safeguard Defenders, the regime touted its success in repatriating at least 230,000 nationals living overseas between April 2021 and July 2022.

The Chinese Consulate in Toronto is seen on April 25, 2023. Andrew Chen/The Epoch Times

The Chinese police involved in the operation claimed that the Chinese nationals had “voluntarily returned” China, though the report indicated that the methods to achieve this voluntary return entails coercion and harassment of the targets and their family members back in China.

According to a 2019 article by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Majcher was involved in a Chinese operation code-named “Project Dragon.” The operation’s aim is to recover money allegedly siphoned out of the country illegally to places such as Canada, the United States, and Australia, and recover proceeds of crime from China that were transferred out of the country.

In the article, Mr. Majcher referred to himself as a “hired gun,” stating that he assists governments and corporations in reclaiming what rightfully belongs to them. Regarding Project Dragon, he revealed his association with “entities” that are themselves connected to Chinese policing authorities.

Pushing Back

Conservative MP Michael Chong applauded the arrest of Mr. Majcher, saying in a Twitter post that it is an “important action taken by the RCMP to disrupt foreign interference in Canada.”

A Globe and Mail article published in May cited a report from the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) saying that China see Canada as a “high-priority target” and that the regime uses “incentives and punishment” as part of a massive influence network.

The CSIS report also revealed that Mr. Chong had been targeted by Zhao Wei, a Chinese diplomat at the Toronto consulate. Mr. Zhao was accused of collecting information on Mr. Chong’s family members in Hong Kong.

Mr. Chong was reportedly targeted for introducing a motion in February 2021 to declare the Chinese regime’s mistreatment of Uyghur Muslims as a genocide.

Mr. Zhao was declared persona non grata and expelled from Canada in May.

A series of media reports in recent months indicated that the Chinese regime has been carrying out extensive foreign interference in Canada. This includes meddling in the last two federal elections, the operation of several secret police stations on Canadian soil, and deploying surveillance balloons across North America.

Kathy Han contributed to this report.