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Bank sued Calgary MP during candidacy
Interview requests to MP Devinder Shory's offices in Calgary, above, and Ottawa were not answered. (Jeff McIntosh/Canadian Press) Calgary Conservative MP Devinder Shory knew he was linked to a mortgage fraud investigation while he was running during the last federal election.
The Bank of Montreal sued Shory, a lawyer, on July 28, 2008, nearly three months before the federal election, according to a lawsuit obtained by CBC News.
In its statement of claim, the bank said it sued Shory because he ignored repeated requests to turn over all records related to five real estate transactions he had processed on behalf of the bank.
According to an affidavit from a BMO investigator, the bank demanded that Shory deliver five "specific client files on an urgent basis."
The bank repeated the demand in a followup letter dated July 18, 2008, and asked for Shory's trust ledger for the same client files.
When the BMO didn't receive the records, it eventually sued Shory for his legal work on the files in which the bank claims mortgages were falsely inflated.
Named in fraud lawsuit
As CBC News first reported, Shory is among more than 300 Albertans, including 16 other lawyers, sued by the Bank of Montreal in what is believed to be the largest mortgage fraud in Canadian history.
A lawsuit obtained by CBC News shows the Bank of Montreal sued Devinder Shory in July 2008. (CBC)
This week Shory said: "It has come to my attention that I have been named in a civil matter. I want to state that I have not yet been served with a statement of claim. When I am, I will defend myself vigorously against these accusations."
According to the July 2008 lawsuit, Shory knew as far back as June 2008 that the bank was investigating his conduct as a lawyer on cases he handled.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper had said the case against Shory was a private, civil matter and the alleged wrongdoing had occurred long before he became the member of Parliament for Calgary Northeast.
Party vetted candidate's private affairs
But a senior Conservative party official in Calgary told CBC News on Friday that a potential candidate's private matters are scrutinized by the party before becoming a party representative. The person spoke on condition of anonymity.
Shory had to complete a 46-page questionnaire designed to unearth anything that might be embarrassing should it surface during, or after, the election, said the official.
The official said that after reviewing Shory's response to the questionnaire, the party had no concerns and allowed him to carry the Conservative banner in the election.
Shory did not respond to interview requests placed by CBC News to his offices in Ottawa and Calgary.
A Prime Minister's Office spokesman said Friday he had not seen the 2008 legal documents and would have no further comment.
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