Assets seized in Canada linked to LTTE

A Montreal building and several bank accounts in Ontario and Quebec were seized by police because they were deemed to be the property of a terrorist group, according to Federal Court documents unsealed yesterday.

The court orders explain why RCMP counterterrorism officers began shutting down the operations of the World Tamil Movement (WTM) in Montreal and Toronto late last week, using powers granted to them under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The police action was carried out in secrecy, but yesterday Justice Francois Lemieux unsealed the court orders approving the seizures. The judge found there were reasonable grounds to believe the building and accounts were property “owned or controlled by, or on behalf of, a terrorist group.”

The WTM is a non-profit organization run by Canadians of ethnic Tamil heritage, but the group’s Quebec and Ontario branches are currently under police investigation for allegedly raising money for Sri Lanka’s Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam guerrillas.

On Friday, police seized the Montreal WTM headquarters at 4160 and 4162 Van Horne as well as several Ontario bank accounts held by the Toronto Dominion Bank Financial Group and Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

“The action was made because we believe that this property was being used to financially support terrorist activity,” Corporal Elaine Lavergne, spokeswoman for the RCMP in Quebec, told the National Post yesterday.

“And we did seize the building because it’s going to help out in our investigation. It’s going to stop the financial support for terrorist activities in Sri Lanka and it’s going to stop, as well, members of the Sri Lankan community in Canada from being victimized by individuals who want to support terrorist activities.”

Police searched the Montreal building in 2006 and found Tiger propaganda material — flags and hats bearing the terrorist group’s militaristic logo, and photos of leader Velupillai Prabhakaran.

They also found financial records such as pre-authorized payment forms and lists of contributors. Police allege the money collected by the WTM is bankrolling the Tamil Tigers’ civil war in Sri Lanka, but no charges have been laid.

Steven Slimovitch, the WTM’s Montreal lawyer, said this was the first time the government had seized property under new provisions of the Criminal Code dealing with the financing of terrorism.

“This hasn’t been tested yet. This section has never been used before.” Mr. Slimovitch said the law allows the government to confiscate property if a judge determines “on the balance of probabilities” that it is tied to terrorism. That is a lower burden of proof than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” required for a criminal conviction.

“It’s much easier for the Government,” Mr. Slimovitch said, adding that other Charter protections available to the accused in criminal trials do not apply in this case. “The government can very clearly say that in this kind of a case, you don’t need those rights, because you’re not accused.”

The lawyer has not seen the RCMP affidavits used to obtain the seizure order — they remain under a court-imposed seal — but he said he was told he would get an edited version. He said a constitutional challenge was possible.

National Post