The British Guardian reported on the 15th that Canadian billionaire Peter Nigard was arrested by Canadian police on the 14th on suspicion of the sex trade and other charges and may be extradited to the United States for trial.
Earlier, dozens of women have sued Nigard for sexual assault by the playboy. According to the New York Times, Nigard has many similarities with Jeffrey Epstein, the previously notorious “sexual abuse tycoon”, relying on money to recruit a large number of women for himself and his “business partners” to indulge in pleasure, and the trial against him may also expose the huge political and business interest network behind him. Day.
According to the Guardian, Nigard, 79, was arrested in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on the 14th of this month and is currently detained in the local prison. Nigard faces nine charges, including transaction and extortion, and under the U.S.-Canada extradition treaty, he is likely to be sent to the United States for trial.
The Associated Press said that the FBI and the U.S. police are investigating Nigard and he will face extradition requested by the U.S. Department of Justice. Nigard’s lawyers denied all the charges and said that the hearing would be held as early as next week.
According to The New York Times, in February this year, 57 women from Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Bahamas and other countries filed a class action lawsuit against Nigard for sexual assault, some of whom were victims who were minors at the time of sexual assault. More than 80 victims later joined class action lawsuits, many of whom said they were lured to the 14,000 square meters sea view mansion in the Bahamas in Nigard. Here, they are forced to have sex with Nigard, his men or guests.
In August this year, two of Nigad’s biological sons also filed a lawsuit against their father, saying that their father sent prostitutes to sexually assault them at the age of 15 and 14, respectively, because they hoped that the two sons would “become men soon”, according to the Canadian News Agency. In order to protect the privacy of the victims, the police did not disclose the information of Nigard’s two sons.
According to The Guardian, according to prosecution documents provided by the judicial departments of the United States and Canada, Nigard has been “using the influence, funds and employees of the company to lure and recruit adult and minor women to meet the sexual needs of himself and that of his friends” for the past 25 years. The victims include many girls between the ages of 14 and 17, whose crimes affect hundreds of people.
It is reported that Nigard and his associates singled on women from poor families to detain, rape and abuse them, beat or threaten them if they do not obey, use drugs, alcohol, and even a “psychological control” method to continuously monitor the victims and make them lose their personal freedom.
Nigard’s mansions throughout the United States, Canada and the Bahamas have become their “nest” for committing sexual crimes and escaping. He even set up a database since 1987, which includes information about victims of sexual assault by himself and his accomplices.
According to The New York Times, Nigard resigned as chairman of his company after being accused of sexual assault and trading in February this year. However, he still refused to admit all the crimes charged, claiming that he was framed and scandalized because of his real estate dispute with another retired rich man, Louis Bacon. Louis Bacon’s mansion in the Bahamas is next to the Nigard residence.
In the past few years, the two sides have launched a total of 25 different lawsuits against each other.
One of the charges is Bacon’s accusation that Nigard sexually assaulted minors in the Bahamas.
Born in Finland and raised in Canada, Peter Nigard founded the multinational fashion group Nigard International in Winnipeg in the 1970s. Its clothing brand was popular in North America with affordable design fashion. At one time, the company had 12,000 employees.
In 2009, Nigard was named Canada’s 100 richest man by Business Canada magazine, worth more than 900 million Canadian dollars. But at the same time, Nigard also did not shy away from his playboy life. He always took young models with him when traveling, and called them his “secret of eternal youth”. It is reported that he has at least 10 children with eight women. In March this year, Nigard International declared bankruptcy in Canada because of the alleged sexual assault of Nigard.
The New York Times said on the 16th that Nigard’s modus operandi is highly similar to that of American “sexual molebusive tycoon” Epstein – Nigard has been using the resources at hand to consolidate his huge social network by providing female pleasure to business partners.
He has close contact with many dignitaries from various countries, and also bribes relevant national officials and police with money to get away with it. Therefore, Nigard is known as the “Canadian version of Epstein”. It is said that Nigard is a good friend of Prince Andrew of England, who is also believed to be close to Epstein.
It is reported that Andrew and Nigard lived together in the latter’s mansion in the Bahamas in 2000. Similar to the Epstein case, the Nigard case is likely to attract a series of “eminent people”.
