ONTARIO: The Ontario Superior Court has dismissed an application by the Swiss-based Activist group, the Bruno Manser Fund (BMF) for a Norwich Pharmacal Order which sought banking records of a private Canadian company, Sakto Corporation.
In a statement issued today by GRA Communications, Legal Counsel for Sakto Corporation, Duncan Fraser said the judge had ruled that Canadian law did not allow foreign “vigilante citizens’ groups” to circumvent the Canadian constitution and get access to private records.
He said the judge ruled that this was especially so “where they don’t have evidence any crime was committed.”
The application had been brought by Lukas Straumann and the BMF, who had for many years carried out sustained attacks on Sakto Corporation.
This had included repeated complaints to authorities including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the British police and several Canadian authorities, which had all repeatedly rejected the BMF demands.
“Now, in spite of its years of activism and publicity, the BMF has conceded to the Canadian Court that it does not have the evidence to support its scandalous allegations.
“For the BMF, they will now be faced with the fact that the US$100,000 they were ordered to post in advance as security for costs, is available to reimburse the responding parties for some of the costs of this proceeding. Their own legal costs will have been substantial,” Fraser said, adding Sakto was a Canadian family business that had operated to the highest ethical standards and in full compliance with Canadian laws.
Sakto Corporation is a real estate holding and investment firm founded and located in Ottawa, Canada.
Fraser said with the decision, the matter was now considered closed.