Sun
Newly unsealed court documents detail extensive allegations of fraud and forgery in the construction of the new Winnipeg police headquarters.
The documents allege Armik Babakhanians and “key staff members” of Caspian Construction “altered and inflated” invoices charged for the headquarters project and “manipulated” invoices for work completed on the Winnipeg Transit garage and other projects.
The allegations are contained in an RCMP search warrant application for Caspian Construction’s McGillivray Boulevard headquarters, executed in December 2014.
The warrant includes the allegations of a Caspian “whistleblower” who claimed Caspian and its subsidiaries altered invoices to pay for “personal expenses” and escalated costs on the headquarters project by bringing in friends as architects.
“An architect friend would act like a gate keeper so that it was easier to get approvals for different expenditures, that was the suggestion,” says the warrant.
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http://www.winnipegsun.com/2016/02/2...search-warrant
FreeP
The RCMP investigation into Winnipeg's new police headquarters involves allegations of fraud and forged documentation by the main contractor involved in the $214-million project, Caspian Construction, according to a 14-month-old search warrant.
The warrant, which allowed Mounties to raid Caspian's Winnipeg office in December 2014, also states the firm authored personal cheques to former Winnipeg mayor Sam Katz.
The document, unsealed Monday, states the RCMP were told Caspian engaged in "numerous instances of improper invoicing and payments in regards to services rendered" during the construction of the Winnipeg Police Service's new downtown headquarters, RCMP Const. Marc Allard states in the warrant.
"Invoices are said to have been improperly associated to the WPS building when in fact the work was either done at other city properties, private properties or was not done at all," Allard states.
The warrant alleges Caspian president Armik Babakhanians defrauded the city of more than $5,000 and forged documents between February 2011 and December 2014. It also alleges Babakhanians and a Caspian manager created a forged document between February 2011 and August 2014.
The warrant also alleges Caspian Construction wrote 10 to 12 personal cheques to former mayor Katz, who was described by one Caspian employee as a friend of Babakhanians. A Caspian employee said she was told the cheques were payment for Winnipeg Jets tickets or concerts at MTS Centre. The largest had a value of $30,000.
"The cheques were sporadic, sometimes in the amount of a few hundred, sometimes in the amount of a few thousand and lately a larger one," a Caspian employee stated.
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http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/loc...370540201.html