Laval mayor’s home/offices searched in UPAC raid

Quebec’s anti-corruption squad launched raids of the home and offices of Laval mayor Gilles Vaillancourt.

According to CBC News, about 70 agents from UPAC made their presence felt at Vaillancourt’s house, city hall and buildings housing Laval’s engineering and HR departments.

UPAC began their operation at around 3:45 Thursday afternoon. Workers at city hall had to leave the building while agents looked for documents and seized computer hardware.

The raids are part of an investigation into the awarding of contracts. Vaillencourt himself has been alleged of political irregularity for about 2 years. He has been accused of offering illegal cash contributions to the campaigns of a PQ and Liberal candidate.

The longtime mayor of the Montreal suburb has denied any wrongdoings. He was not present at any of the location when the raids took place.