A former Canadian police officer charged with spying for China has been acquitted of national security offenses after prosecutors failed to prove criminal conduct.
William Majcher, who once served in the financial crime unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), was charged in 2023 with violating Canada's Security of Information Act. He was accused of helping Chinese police pressure a real estate investor in the Vancouver area, who was charged with fraud, to return to China.
On January 8, British Columbia Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin found Majcher not guilty under the Security of Information Act. She said the prosecution had “failed to meet its burden of proof” in the case. The judge described the prosecution's evidence as entirely “circumstantial” and said the RCMP arrest appeared based on “generalized suspicion or conjecture.”
Justice Devlin also questioned a meeting between Majcher and Peter German, a former superior and anti-money-laundering expert. During the meeting, Majcher explained his work relationship with the Chinese government. The judge said: “I find it reasonable to infer that Mr. Majcher would not draw the attention of a former senior law enforcement official to his activities with China if he intended and understood those activities to be in furtherance of illegal blackmail.”
Majcher, who lives in Hong Kong and works as a private financial and cybersecurity investigator, was arrested in Vancouver in 2023. At the time, police alleged he “used his knowledge and extensive network of contacts in Canada to obtain intelligence or services for the benefit of China.” However, the case collapsed in court as prosecutors could not convince the judge of any illegal conduct.
The case was closely watched amid concerns over Chinese interference in Canadian elections and the operation of secret “police stations” across the country to intimidate dissidents.
After the ruling, Majcher told reporters he was “very grateful” to the judge and his wife. He said the three-year legal battle had “devastated” his wife and young children. “It's time I'll never get back, they'll never get back.”
Majcher's lawyer, Ian Donaldson, said concerns about foreign interference may have influenced the RCMP investigation and the “huge public resources” the case consumed. He said: “Today, ironically, the U.S. is supposedly the enemy and China is our friend.”
