MONTREAL — A Crown prosecutor in Quebec says she wants concrete evidence that Arthur Porter is dead before dropping fraud charges against him.
Marie-Helene Giroux tells The Canadian Press she needs official confirmation and corroborating proof that the 59-year-old Porter died in a Panamanian hospital.
His biographer, Jeff Todd, published a statement Wednesday to say Porter’s doctor confirmed his patient had succumbed to cancer.
Porter had been detained since May 2013 in Panama as he fought extradition to Canada, where he faced fraud charges relating to a $1.3-billion hospital project in Montreal.
Todd published a second statement on Thursday, reportedly from Porter’s family, confirming his death.
Giroux says her office has started preparing an official request to receive proof of Porter’s passing, such as a death certificate signed by a doctor.
His wife, Pamela Porter, was sentenced in December to 33 months in jail after she pleaded guilty to two counts of money laundering in connection with her husband’s case.