MONTREAL - Revenue Quebec has filed 800 charges against a Carmen International, a Montreal gold and jewelry refining business.
Each of the company's three principal administrators have been slammed with 202 charges, fines of $38 million each and accusations of defrauding provincial and federal governments with improper tax credits.
The charges stem from an investigation that kicked off in 2011 and also targets eight other companies, with 1,400 charges in total and fines that could exceed $211 million.
But Carmen International is the biggest target of the three as, it faces 808 charges and fines of $152 million.
Revenue Quebec says it would also like to see criminal charges laid in relation to the case.
The company hasn’t commented, but had previously said that it was working with the province to settle the situation and had accused Revenue Quebec of acting improperly.
Along with hefty fines, the 11 suspects could face jail time. Revenue Quebec alleges that they used a phoney billing system to try to get tax refunds they were not entitled to.
The agency says they engaged in fraudulent commercial activity that involved the transformation and recycling of gold.
Revenue Quebec says its proof is based on 20,000 pages of documentation and the testimony of informants.
The alleged activities took place between March 2006 and July 2010.
-With a file from The Canadian Press
