RCMP investigator sees no ‘lawful reason’ why Ortis would have leaked information, jury hears

One of the Mounties tasked with investigating Cameron Ortis, the former RCMP official accused of leaking intelligence, said he can’t see any “lawful reason” why his former colleague would have shared police information with targets.

Sgt. Peter Neily, a 19-year veteran with the force, answered questions about Project Ace, the RCMP’s investigation into Ortis, as the jury trial resumed Wednesday after a Thanksgiving break.

“My job specifically was to track down evidence of what had been shared. And the reason for the information being shared was unfathomable to me,” he said.

Neily, a 19-year veteran of the RCMP, said the documents Ortis is accused of leaking to alleged associates of an international money-laundering syndicate could have helped police targets stay one step ahead of authorities and could have exposed an undercover agent.

Ortis, 51, faces six charges, including four counts of violating the Security of Information Act. He is accused of sharing special operational information “intentionally and without authority” with Salim Henareh and Muhammad Ashraf. He also faces one count of attempting to share special operational information with Farzam Mehdizadeh.

RCMP intelligence reports entered into evidence during the trial show the RCMP was investigating those three men and their money services businesses for potential links to Altaf Khanani, an internationally-wanted man suspected of laundering money for terrorists.

Ortis is also accused of leaking special operational information to Vincent Ramos, the head of a company that was accused of selling encrypted phones to criminals, including the Khanani network and drug cartels.

Crown Prosecutor Judy Kliewer told the jury during her opening remarks that most of the details of the case are not in dispute. The main point of contention, she said, is whether Ortis was “authorized to communicate what he did.”

Ortis has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. Defence lawyer Mark Ertel told reporters the defence believes it can prove he had the “authority to do everything he did.”

During cross examination, Ertel asked Neily if he had decided that “it didn’t matter what [Ortis’s] job was because there was no way anybody could do this.”

“In relation to what was eventually shared, I cannot see a lawful reason that that was done,” said Neily.

“In reviewing what had been shared, and the lives that were potentially put at risk there, I didn’t see that being a possibility, that was in the realm of professional action.”

Neily said burning an undercover agent could put that agent in a life-threatening situation.

Intelligence would have given suspects an edge

After police cracked an encrypted USB key found at Ortis’s apartment, they found top-secret intelligence reports about the three men that came from the RCMP and the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC), Canada’s financial intelligence agency, court has heard.

The court heard how Henareh told Neily he had received a package in March of 2015 containing a cover letter, an 11-page FINTRAC disclosure summary and a DVD containing more FINTRAC documents, and gave it to his lawyer.

Ashraf told investigators he only became aware of emails sent to his company from a user named “blindbat” following police inquiries in 2019. Neily said those email messages were obtained through a production order.

Mehdizadeh has fled the country and Neily said his son was not willing to cooperate with police.

Some of the uncovered documents contained details of a Five Eyes investigation into the Khanani network, including intelligence that, according to one RCMP report, “identified a number of Canadian subjects that act as agents of Khanani.” Other documents show Henareh, Ashraf and Mehdizadeh were on the RCMP’s radar.

Neily told the jury that documents found at Ortis’s apartment matched documents recovered from the three men.

He said the release of the information could have had serious consequences.

“Essentially, it’s identifying who the targets of a significant criminal investigation are,” Neily said, answering questions from the Crown.

“It would allow the recipient of it to warn those individuals that they were under investigation.”

The Crown said information recovered from the USB key found in Ortis’s apartment suggested he was amassing information to share with Mehdizadeh, including information about a U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation out of Miami and a Montreal-based probe.

Documents show RCMP wanted to lay charges

RCMP documents shown to the jury show the Mounties had “the objective of laying charges in Canada if possible.” Notes allegedly compiled by Ortis suggest Mehdizadeh was on a Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) watch list and indicated that a confidential informant was involved.

“There are things revealed in this information that is significant, that if it was shared with the target of a police investigation would have significant consequences,” said Neily.

He told the jury that, based on notes recovered from the USB key found at Ortis’s apartment, he believes Ortis’s goal was to contact Khanani.

The U.S. State Department accused Khanani, once described in a media report as “one of the world’s most wanted fraudsters,” of laundering billions of dollars for organized crime and terrorist outfits, including al-Qaeda and the Taliban.

Khanani was arrested in Florida in the fall of 2015. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering.

According to the agreed statement of fact, in an interview with RCMP in late 2019, Khanani told police that he had not received a message offering to provide intelligence.

Henareh’s lawyers says he has “been fully investigated by the RCMP and he has been completely exonerated.” CBC has attempted to contact Ashraf for a response through his company, but hasn’t received a response yet.

The jury also heard from retired RCMP staff sergeant Patrick Martin, who helped investigate the money services businesses.

He will resume testimony Thursday.