Belhassen Trabelsi sits outside the Immigration and Refugee Board offices, Tuesday, May 7, 2013, in Montreal.Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press
The evidence that led a tribunal to reject Belhassen Trabelsi's bid for refugee status in Canada stems from allegations that he received bribes in connection with the 2004 sale of tramway cars by the French company Alstom to Tunisia, British documents show.
Mr. Trabelsi, a wealthy businessman and relative of Tunisia's ousted president, applied for political asylum after arriving in Montreal four years ago.
In a ruling released on Monday, the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) turned down Mr. Trabelsi's bid, saying it had "serious reasons" to believe he was involved in a bribery scheme in Tunisia.
The name of the companies and individuals were redacted from the IRB decision because part of the hearings took place behind closed doors at the request of government lawyers.
However, the ruling said Mr. Trabelsi was alleged to have "received substantial bribes" after a sum of about €2.4-million ($3.3-million) was wired from a French multinational firm to a Montreal shell company, Construction et Gestion Nevco, owned by a Montreal businessman who is a friend of Mr. Trabelsi.
The allegations match details of a British fraud case against a subsidiary of Alstom.
According to a court summons issued last September, Alstom Network UK Ltd., formerly known as Alstom International Ltd., is facing six charges that it paid millions of euros in bribes disguised as consultancy payments so it could get major transport contracts in India, Poland and Tunisia.
The charge sheet alleges that Alstom paid €2.36-million to public officials in Tunisia, "disguised as payments in respect of a consultancy agreement with Construction et Gestion Nevco Inc."
The alleged bribes were paid at the time Alstom announced in 2004 that it had an €80-million deal to provide 30 tramway cars to operate in the Tunisian capital.
The documents corroborate a story first reported by Radio-Canada last October connecting Nevco to Alstom and allegations of bribery.
Monday's IRB decision confirmed that the authorities are investigating whether Mr. Trabelsi was linked to Nevco.
The British charges were filed last July by Britain's Serious Fraud Office.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Neither Mr. Trabelsi nor his Montreal friend have been charged. A lawyer who has represented the two men did not respond to messages requesting comment on Tuesday.
The British case against Alstom is expected to go to trial at London's Southwark Crown Court starting on May 23, 2016.
Mr. Trabelsi is the brother-in-law of former Tunisian president Zine el Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown in January, 2011.
"The consultancy agreement between Nevco and [the multinational] was a sham used to facilitate the payment of a bribe to the claimant for the purpose of obtaining, or influencing the process for granting … contracts in Tunisia," the IRB ruling said.
The IRB said Mr. Trabelsi's safe deposit box in Switzerland contained documents such as contracts with Nevco and a Dutch company, and a memorandum of understanding between a Chinese company and a Canadian company concerning a call for tenders. Mr. Trabelsi told the tribunal he was storing those papers for his friend, but the IRB said that explanation was not plausible.
The tribunal also noted that Mr. Trabelsi's BlackBerry had contact information for several senior executives of the multinational, including the directors responsible for the company's business dealings in Tunisia. He has said he did not know these people and the names were synchronized into his phone by an assistant.
Mr. Trabelsi can apply to the Federal Court for permission to challenge the IRB decision.