Three people linked to former Solicitor-General Kash Heed’s 2009 election campaign are facing a total of 12 charges under both the Criminal Code and Election Act, including obstruction of justice and fraud, for alleged misconduct.

But Heed himself, who stepped aside last month after he learned of an RCMP investigation, has been cleared of any wrong-going, according to release by special prosecutor Terry Robertson.

Robertson was appointed in January after allegations that controversial anti-NDP leaflets distributed by bulk mail days before the election were improperly produced by Heed’s Vancouver-Fraserview campaign office.

While Heed campaign manager Barinder Singh Sall, financial agent Satpal Johl and bulk mailer Dinesh Khanna were all charged, there was no evidence to suggest Heed knew of their alleged conduct, Robertson said in his statement.

“The Special Prosecutor has not approved any charges against Kash Heed. On the evidence presented to the Special Prosecutor, there is no evidence that Mr. Heed was either involved in the production of pamphlets or had direct knowledge of the pamphlets,” Robertson said.

Heed said Monday that he was “totally surprised” and “somewhat disappointed” at the charges against two senior members of his campaign, but added he did not want to comment on any specific allegations.

“I’m going to let the wheels of justice turn and let them deal with that particular point,” he said.

He was not surprised he was exonerated.

“I’ve said right from the start I was confident I did nothing wrong and I maintain that,” Heed told reporters in Victoria. “I’m not going to comment on the investigation itself. But what I’ve read from the press release, yes, I’m happy.”

Heed said it will be up to Premier Gordon Campbell to decide when he can return to cabinet in his former role as solicitor-general.

When asked if he thought there is any reason why he should not get the job back, Heed responded: “not in my opinion.”

Campbell was en route to Europe Monday and unavailable for comment.

Sall, 34, is charged with two criminal counts of obstruction of justice, one of submitting a fraudulent document, two of obstructing an elections official and one of improper election advertising, all of which were sworn in Vancouver Provincial Court Monday.

Sall is a long-time Liberal activist who worked briefly for former Attorney General Wally Oppal and also managed his campaign.

Khanna is the owner of North American Mailing Ltd. and the person who sent out the controversial Chinese language brochure through Canada Post. He is also facing both criminal code obstruction of justice charges and similar counts under the Elections Act. His son Amit worked on Heed’s campaign.

Johl, 55, faces a single count under the Elections Act of not declaring all the campaign expenses when he filed a revised report last Aug. 7.

All three are expected to make their first appearance June 1.

The information sworn against the three men lays out a sequence of events that began on May 4, 2009 when it is alleged Sall and Khanna produced the controversial pamphlet but failed to label it as an official campaign document.

On May 7, 2009, Khanna is alleged to have lied to Elections BC when their representative contacted him about the pamphlet.

Then between July 14 and 16, 2009, Khanna is alleged to have told “a false story, including providing a telephone number for a fictitious individual, “Jag” to two police officers. Those two sets of alleged lies are also the basis for the two obstruction of justice charges.

Sall is alleged to have posed as “Jag” to the Elections BC official and to have also “fabricated a false story and arranged for that false story to be provided” to police. And he is alleged to have attempted to defraud Elections B.C. by falsifying an advertising sponsor disclosure report.”

Johl is alleged to have failed on Aug. 7, 2009 to “ensure that all election expenses of the organization or individual for whom he was acting were properly recorded.”

The Criminal Code offences carry maximum penalties of 10 years in jail. The offences under the Elections Act could lead to a year in jail or a $10,000 fine or both.

Robertson, the special prosecutor, said he not only examined whether Heed knew about the pamphlet and related events, but also whether he should have known about the problems with the election expenses.

“On the evidence that was presented to the Special Prosecutor, there is nothing to show that Kash Heed had any personal knowledge that the election financing report was false,” Robertson said. “In addition, given the facts that give rise to the obstruction charges against Barinder Sall and Dinesh Khanna and the charge of falsification of a document against Barinder Sall, there is no substantial likelihood of conviction of Mr. Heed. In these circumstances, a court would likely find that even e with the exercise of reasonable diligence, Kash Heed could not have known about the conduct of Barinder Sall and Dinesh Khanna.”

The New Democratic Party, which first complained about the pamphlet to Elections B.C. last year, doesn’t think Heed is in the clear just yet.

Mike Farnworth, NDP critic for the solicitor-general, said it is still too early for Heed to return to cabinet.

“I don’t think he should be back in cabinet until after the court case is finished and we have seen what the final verdict is, and what the judgment is,” Farnworth said.

“These are serious charges against the two most senior people in the campaign — the campaign manager and the financial agent,” he added.

“The penalties under the Election Act can be the forfeiture of the seat, particularly when it comes to the campaign expenditure portion.”

In fact, the RCMP confirmed Monday that there is an on-going investigation related to the Vancouver-Fraserview campaign.

RCMP Sgt. Rob Vermeulen, said that the charges laid Monday relate specifically to the pamphlet portion of the investigation, which is complete.

But there are other elements to the probe still be actively pursued by police, he said.

“Charges today speak to that part of the investigation,” he said Monday.

“The investigation continues and if there is any further evidence identified, it will be forwarded to the Chief Electoral Officer and the special prosecutor.”

He also said that while the pamphlets were sent out in other ridings, that is not part of the police probe.

The mysterious brochures caused Heed’s NDP opponent Gabriel Yiu to complain of dirty tricks at the time. Sent through Canada Post, the flyer accused the NDP of wanting to increase taxes, legalize drugs and impose death taxes. It included portraits of organized criminals and gangsters.

Elections BC confirmed at the time that it received a complaint about the pamphlet during the final week of the election. Their officials got Canada Post to halt the mail-out and in June 2009, Elections BC referred the matter to the RCMP.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.