Groupaction president describes history of payments to Liberal Party
By Adnews Staff
Justice John Gomery partially lifted the publication ban late last week on testimony made by former Groupaction president Jean Brault to the ongoing sponsorship inquiry. The judge originally imposed the ban to preserve Brault's right to a fair criminal trail. The judge said in his new ruling, "I am of the opinion that almost all of Mr. Brault's testimony and the documentation filed as part of his evidence have little to do with the accusations of fraud and conspiracy that he is facing. It is in the public interest that this evidence, with only a few exceptions, be made available to the public." In the testimony now released to the public, Brault outlines a history of false invoices and phantom employees used by his company to kick back money to the Liberal Party in exchange for government contracts. According to media reports of Brault's testimony, Groupaction allegedly paid approximately $1 million dollars to the Liberals through various covert and possibly illegal mechanisms between 1996 and 2001.