RCMP and the Calgary police have told the Bank of Montreal they won’t investigate what could be the biggest mortgage fraud in Canadian history, CBC News has learned.
Both police forces stated last week they were reviewing the voluminous case — more than 35,000 documents — assembled by the bank’s investigators to see if a criminal investigation was warranted.
But sources have told the CBC that top investigators from both forces recently met with the bank and told it they were not interested in pursuing a criminal investigation.
In an email Sunday, the bank’s Calgary lawyer, Munaf Mohamed, declined comment.
The lack of police response does not surprise former RCMP officer Chris Mathers, who said police forces simply can’t tackle alleged frauds of this magnitude.
“There just aren’t enough police officers to investigate these crimes,” said Mathers, a Toronto-based corporate crime consultant. Mathers said fraud is rampant in Canada and police forces are already swamped.