A Quebec social-media influencer and her husband allegedly accepted millions of dollars from RT, a media outlet controlled by Moscow, despite sanctions prohibiting any citizen of Canada from dealing with the company and its officials.
William Pellerin, a partner at McMillan LLP in Ottawa who specializes in international trade law and co-leads the firm’s sanctions team, declined to comment about the specific allegations in the U.S. indictment. But speaking generally about the sanctions, he said the rules are quite broad. Charlotte Hibbard, a spokesperson for the RCMP, said the force generally does not comment on investigations in other countries.Although Tenet and the couple are not named in the indictment, prosecutors’ description of the Tennessee-based company and the couple – who are referred to as Founder 1 and Founder 2 – match the language used on Tenet’s website. The indictment also alleges that Founder 1′s Canadian company received some of funds that were transferred from the RT officials.
RT also provided the couple with an official letter designating them “essential workers” during the pandemic, the indictment states. The company registered by Ms. Chen and Mr. Donovan, Tenet Media, began operations last fall. In a post on X, it said it was a “new independent media network” with “independent” thinkers.