KPMG, World’s Fourth Largest Accounting Firm, Advocates for Maximum Penalty
Canadian Citizen Being Prosecuted Under Archaic Law – Could Technically Face Death Penalty If Convicted
A Sikh Businessman from Abbotsford, British Columbia, and former employee of HSBC Finance (a subsidiary of Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation – the world’s 2nd largest bank), Vancouver City Savings (Canada’s largest Credit Union), and fundraiser for the Red Cross, Greenpeace, PBS, and the Anti-Defamation League, is being charged under a rarely used section of the Criminal Code in Canada for allegedly posting a blog, stemming from a matter in which he is owed $3 million.
Court records indicate that Satinder Paul Singh Dhillon, 34, was arrested from his residence located in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on Friday, July 2nd, 2010. Approximately 9 police officers showed up with a battering ram at 10:30 am, while Dhillon was asleep. He was woken by the officers, handcuffed without having been given the chance to change out of his pajamas, brush his teeth, nor eat or drink anything. He was then driven in handcuffs approximately 45 minutes away from where he lived, to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, (RCMP),detachment in Surrey British Columbia.
After arriving at the detachment, Dhillon was finger printed, asked to remove his shoes, and given grey disposable shoe covers to wear on his feet instead. Dhillon was then left in a cell for over 4 hours, and taken in for an interrogation that lasted over one and a half hours. The whole time since his arrest earlier that morning Dhillon had not eaten or drank anything, and towards the end of his interrogation Dhillon felt as if he was going to fall off his chair he was so light headed.
Upon conclusion of the interrogation, Dhillon was told by the arresting RCMP officer that he was “just doing his job”. Dhillon was then given a local bus pass, (despite the fact that he lived in Abbotsford, and there was no transit service that went from Surrey to Abbotsford), and released from custody at approximately 5:30 pm. The RCMP officer also gave Dhillon his wallet, cell phone, jeans and a jacket, which were retrieved at Dhillon’s request from his home during the arrest.
During his interrogation Satinder Paul Singh Dhillon- 34, told RCMP officers that he is owed $3 million, and is the largest creditor in an involuntary bankruptcy proceeding dating all the way back to 1999. Dhillon believes, as a creditor, KPMG, the world’s fourth largest accounting firm, should have been protecting his rights, and that of all the creditors – as prescribed by the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act in Canada.
KPMG was appointed as the Trustee some 13 years ago, in this now longest running bankruptcy proceeding in the history of Canada.
Also during the interrogation an RCMP officer stated to Dhillon that he was ‘served on a platter’ by KPMG, and the officer goes on to state to Dhillon,“you got a target on your back”.
The interrogation also revealed that according to one of the two RCMP officers that interrogated Dhillon, KPMG is on a mission to “silence” anyone who speaks about this case, and that KPMG has a “serious amount of resources”. The officer also states to Dhillon that “it’s quite obvious they’re after you”. Dhillon responds to being arrested, and learning what the officers are telling him by stating, “next they will put a bullet in my head, because there’s $800 million dollars involved”.
A transcribed copy of the interrogation also shows that the RCMP acknowledge that at the time the officers arrested Mr. Dhillon, they were not aware that Dhillon was the largest creditor in this historic proceeding, and even though KPMG filed the complaint with the RCMP, and put considerable time and resources to “serve” up Dhillon, they had neglected to inform them of Dhillon’s status as a creditor, and instead referred to him as “evil”, an “annoyance” and a “loser” who “can’t get his money” and that KPMG just wanted him to “go away”.
The officer continues on, and says to Dhillon that KPMG ‘just wants to shut you up’ and that KPMG “don’t give a shit about you”. Dhillon responds at one point during the interrogation, by asking how come “nobody did anything when the creditors called the RCMP?”.
At one point the interrogation takes a turn for a brief moment, and the officer states, while referring to KPMG, “let’s be honest right, they are accountable, they should be held accountable”, but then soon thereafter says, “they’re gonna laugh at you, you’re gonna go off to jail, and they’re gonna laugh at you, and hey that’s, you know what, the facts”. He also further berates Dhillon, saying “Don’t go all Malcolm X on me, okay…Don’t get all Ghandi on me.”
One of the officers states that he is trying to get both sides of the story, and that KPMG is advocating that Dhillon is evil, and has done something “horrible and horrendous”, and that he ‘should be thrown away’ and get the “maximum penalty”. Dhillon finishes off the interrogation by stating “who’d thought that, the accountants in the world could do something like this”.
In this particular case, for some odd reason, the Ministry of the Attorney General in B.C. has chosen to prosecute this allegation of posting a blog, and contempt of court against Dhillon under the last exception left under common law in Canada. According to this archaic, and draconian law, Dhillon is to be tried by Judge alone, at taxpayer’s expense, and he does not have the option to have a jury of his peers, despite potentially facing time in prison, and technically the death penalty could be applied.
Further to this, the trial Judge in this matter will also be the sentencing Judge, and reserves, solely, the right to stay the charges. The Ministry of the Attorney General appears not to be able to stay the proceedings, as is usually the case.
This last remaining common law exception is so old that the death penalty still technically applies, even though Canada abolished the death penalty in 1976, the year before Dhillon was born.
Court transcripts also reveal that Mr. Howard Mickelson, of the law firm Gudmundseth Mickelson LLP (http://www.lawgm.com/index.html), a lawyer hired by KPMG, appeared on the accounting firm’s behalf, at a hearing where Dhillon, through an attorney, approximately 3 months after his arrest, had requested to get back the documents, and computer equipment that the RCMP had seized during the raid on his house.
This appearance by KPMG’s lawyer is noteworthy due to the fact during a criminal proceeding, a civil lawyer has no standing before the court, and the fact that Mr. Mickelson states in his bio that he “represents an international chartered accountancy firm defending professional negligence claims involving issues of tax and bankruptcy practice”. (http://www.lawgm.com/hmpage.html).
At the time of the publication of this article, Dhillon had yet to receive any of the things that were seized during the raid, which took place over two years ago.
For more information about Satinder Dhillon please visit:
www.facebook.com/satinder.dhillon1
http://www.twitter.com/SatinderDhillon
http://timesofcanadapresents.blogspot.com/
Satinder Dhillon Takes the Fight for Equality and Justice to the Supreme Court of Canada
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/4/prweb2376864.htm
For more information about the involuntary bankruptcy proceedings of Erwin Singh Braich please visit:
Sikh Billionaire Files Lawsuit:
To read a copy of the Statement of Claim click here:
http://www.justiceandtruthforall.org/uploads/StatementClaim__Affidavit_01.pdf
For more information about Vancity please visit:
Canada’s Largest Credit Union Offers to “Build a Better World”
https://www.vancity.com/AboutUs/OurNews/AdditionalNews/April27/
For more information about HSBC please visit:
As of March 2011 HSBC was the world’s second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company, according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine
KPMG ADVOCATES FOR MAXIMUM PENALTY 