RCMP to Begin Unfreezing Bank Accounts Locked Out Over Freedom Convoy Protests
The RCMP has been instructed to unfreeze the bank accounts of people that were locked out due to their financial contributions to the “illegal” Freedom Convoy blockades.
The RCMP is working alongside banks to unfreeze accounts of Canadians that donated to, participated in, or organized the Freedom Convoy blockades in Ottawa and at major border crossings. On Tuesday, assistant deputy minister of finance Isabelle Jacques announced the RCMP has been sharing information with financial institutions since Monday to ultimately unlock the affected bank accounts. However, certain individuals’ accounts will remain inaccessible as per other court orders, including those belonging to Patrick King, Tamara Lich, Christopher Garrah, Nicholas St. Louis and Benjamin Dichter— the main organizers of the protests.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s invocation of the Emergencies Act led to the freezing of somewhere between 206 and 210 bank accounts, amounting to a total of $7.8 million in funds. On Monday, the police revealed they had frozen 219 financial “products” as well as disclosed the “addresses of 253 bitcoin shared with virtual currency exchangers; and, the proactive freezing of the account of a payment processor for a value of $3.8M by a financial institution.”
The RCMP initially provided the financial institutions with a list of individuals that acted as “influencers in the illegal protest in Ottawa, and owners and/or drivers of vehicles who did not want to leave the area impacted by the protest.” However, the mounties said they did not disclose a list of donors to the banks, and instead the financial institutions used their own internal mechanisms and algorithms to identify those individuals who contributed funds to the protests.
Information for this briefing was found via the Government of Canada. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
