Ex-Haiti senator tied to gangs sues to be taken off Canada’s sanctions

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OTTAWA — A former Haitian senator accused of having links to criminal gangs, drug trafficking, money laundering and corruption in Haiti is suing the federal government to have himself removed from Canada’s sanction list.

In a lawsuit filed earlier this month in the Federal Court, controversial former Haitian senator Rony Celestin says the government’s decision to sanction him in late 2022 was “unreasonable” and based on “vague impressions and perceived ambiguities.”

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Haiti’s government has been dysfunctional since at least 2020 and Celestin was one of the country’s remaining 10 senators when their terms expired in January 2023. The leaderless country is currently engulfed in gang violence, chaos, and a growing humanitarian crisis.

Last month, the United Nations denounced the rampant “deaths, hunger and gang rape” in Haiti as over 2,500 people have been reported killed, kidnapped or injured by ongoing gang violence across the country.

According to the Canadian and U.S. governments, Celestin had a role to play in the rise of gang activity in Haiti.

On Nov. 17, 2022, Canada added Celestin to its sanction list alongside five other former or current high-ranking Haitian officials for his alleged role in grave breaches of international peace and security.

The sanctions effectively freeze Celestin’s assets in Canada and prohibit any Canadian or resident of Canada from having any dealings with the former Haitian senator.

In the Canada Gazette, the government said it had reason to believe Celestin and the five others had used their position “to protect and/or support the activities of criminal gangs, including through money laundering and other acts of corruption.”

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“These gangs are committing unspeakable violence and terrorizing vulnerable populations with impunity,” read the Gazette at the time.

One month later, the U.S. government also sanctioned Celestin because it believed he engaged in international drug trafficking activities.

“He has used his political position to orchestrate the importation of drugs from Venezuela into Haiti, as well as the exportation of drugs to the United States and The Bahamas,” reads the U.S. Department of Treasury release at the time.

The release also described Celestin and his former senate colleague Richard Fourcand as “corrupt Haitian politicians” who abused their power “to further drug trafficking activities across the region” and destabilize Haiti.

But Celestin denies any wrongdoing. Days after Canada sanctioned him in November 2022, he said he asked Ottawa to remove his name from the sanction list, all the while requesting a meeting with Global Affairs Canada (GAC) officials and all information used by the department to justify the sanctions.

In July 2023, his lawsuit says he received a letter from GAC noting that the decision to sanction was based on information that included open-source and media reporting that led it to conclude that “you have been involved in corruption and fraud.”

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The lawsuit says he argued that the information was based on “rumours spread by political and economic adversaries” and reiterated that he should not be sanctioned.

On March 7, 2024, he said Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly issued a final decision rejecting his request to be removed from Canada’s sanctions. His lawsuit says Joly’s decision was namely based on the belief Celestin was involved in corruption, fraud and international drug trafficking that had fed the gang violence in Haiti.

The decision also cited Celestin’s wife’s controversial purchase in February 2021 of a sumptuous, $4.25 million lakefront villa in Quebec that seemed “disproportionate” to their known finances, the lawsuit says.

Celestin’s wife’s purchase of the lavish villa — located on a 66,000-square-foot waterfront property and featuring five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a wine cellar, pool and 10-car driveway — led to an investigation by Haiti’s anticorruption unit after it was first reported by La Presse.

Celestin’s lawsuit says months later the anti-corruption unit issued a certificate saying there were no irregularities in the purchase of the home.

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But the lawsuit and Haitian media reports also reveal that in March 2023 the same anticorruption unit recommended charges against Celestin and other former senators for false declaration of assets.

In response to Joly’s refusal to remove his from Canada’s sanction list, Celestin turned to the Federal Court in the hopes of having the decision reversed.

“It appears that the Minister’s Decision is not based on any verified or verifiable fact, which does not lead to the conclusion that (Celestin) was involved in any matter of corruption or fraud, large scale or not, in Haiti,” reads the lawsuit.

“The Minister’s Decision to include the applicant’s name on the list of the sanctions … is void ab initio, illegal and arbitrary, and requires the intervention of this Court in order to prevent the plaintiff from suffering any further harm,” Celestin’s lawyer noted.

Global Affairs Canada spokesperson John Babcock declined to comment on Celestin’s lawsuit.

“Canada is judicious when it chooses to deploy sanctions and is committed to their effective and coordinated use, when appropriate,” he said in a statement.

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