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Former RCMP officer William Majcher (L), arrives at BC Supreme Court for a decision in his trial in Vancouver on May 13, 2026. The Canadian Press/Rich Lam
Federal prosecutors are challenging the ruling of a B.C. court which found a former Mountie not guilty of acting on behalf of the Chinese regime.
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada filed the notice of appeal in the B.C. Court of Appeal on June 11. The service is asking for the acquittal to be set aside and for a new trial to be held.
The move follows a May 13 B.C. Supreme Court ruling that acquitted former RCMP officer William Majcher of engaging in preparatory acts for a Security of Information Act offence on behalf of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
Majcher, based in Hong Kong, was accused of trying to compel Vancouver-based real estate mogul Hongwei (Kevin) Sun to return to China to face fraud charges.
In her decision, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Martha Devlin said prosecutors had failed to demonstrate that Majcher was trying to circumvent Canadian law in his work related to Sun.
The Crown’s notice of appeal says the judge erred in law by assessing the evidence on the wrong legal principle and by failing to consider all evidence in relation to the “ultimate issue,” which is not specified in the document. The notice also says the judge erred in law in finding the expert evidence inadmissible.
The Crown provided no further details. The case is subject to publication bans because of its national security aspects.
The Public Prosecution Service of Canada told The Epoch Times it could not comment on a matter before the courts.
In reaction to the appeal, Majcher’s lawyer on the civil side said his client committed no offence.
“The prosecution’s theory against him was rejected by the Supreme Court of British Columbia after a full examination of the facts,” attorney Joel Etienne said in a statement to The Epoch Times. “From our perspective, the appeal appears to lack substantive merit and risks becoming an exercise in institutional self-preservation rather than the pursuit of justice.”
Majcher’s counsel on the criminal side, Ian Donaldson, was not available to comment.
Majcher left the RCMP in 2007, following a career in international policing and financial crime investigations. After moving to Hong Kong, he founded a consultancy firm specialized in asset recovery.
He was arrested and charged when entering Canada in July 2023. Justice Devlin ruled the arrest unconstitutional in a March decision, saying it was conducted without reasonable and probable grounds.
Majcher was arrested amid heightened scrutiny on the issue of Beijing interference. In the months leading up to his arrest, intelligence leaks in the media had depicted widespread meddling by the PRC in Canada.
One example of a global influence operation is China’s Operation Fox Hunt, which aims to repatriate fugitives accused of financial crimes. The operation is part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive, which has been used to target political opponents.
Court documents filed during the Majcher trial said at least 25 Canadian residents have been targeted by Chinese police.
Majcher had pled not guilty and denied having a “working relationship” with Beijing.
“I was always dealing with state-owned enterprises, dealing with Chinese government, because that’s the nature of doing business when you’re in Hong Kong with banking and asset management,” he said following his acquittal in May.
The Crown accused Majcher of working as a “proxy” for Chinese authorities who sought to repatriate Sun, who is accused of stealing $120 million in assets from the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China.
As part of the case, the Crown relied on emails sent by Majcher in 2017 in which he said he was hoping to obtain the copy of an arrest warrant against Sun to pressure him into cooperating. The emails also proposed working with Chinese authorities, including providing training in international financial crimes investigations.
Justice Devlin found the emails insufficient to prove Majcher had committed an offence.
“Viewing the entirety of the evidence, and remaining alive to the context in which Mr. Majcher wrote his communications ... I have a reasonable doubt about the nature and extent of Mr. Majcher’s actions and his subjective intention in relation to Mr. Sun as of May and June 2017,” she wrote. “It follows that I find the Crown has failed to meet its burden in this case.”
William Hetherington and The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
