A reclusive billionaire who headed a Montreal tech company is stepping down one day after Radio-Canada/CBC published a report that alleged he paid teenage girls for sex for more than a decade.
Future Electronics, a company based in the Montreal suburb of Pointe-Claire, announced in a news release Friday that Robert Miller resigned as CEO, and that he will "focus on health and address allegations raised in [the] CBC program."
Miller, 79, has not been involved in the company's operations for "a number of years" and will "devote his attention to the protection of his reputation," according to the statement.
The company said he "adamantly and vehemently denies" the allegations.
Allegations from 10 women, some as young as 14 at the time of the alleged events, were broadcast in Radio-Canada's Enquête program Thursday evening. The report alleged the tech executive, who now suffers from Parkinson's disease, arranged for his associates to bring the minor girls to his Montreal hotel room, as well as his home in Westmount, to perform sexual acts between 1994 to 2006.
The Montreal police service (SPVM) publicly acknowledged Friday that they investigated Miller between 2008 and 2009 and then handed over the results of the probe to prosecutors. No charges were laid.
Future Electronics, a multinational distributor of electronic components, was founded in 1968 and has more than 5,500 employees worldwide.
In its statement, the company said the allegations against the businessman are "malicious" and are the result of a "bitter divorce."
The allegations, the company said, are "false and wholly unsubstantiated" and are now being resurfaced "for financial gain."
Omar Baig was announced as the new president and CEO.
Reacting to the media report on Friday, Montreal police said victims of sexual exploitation are encouraged to file a complaint with the authorities who will investigate.
"New facts may lead to the reopening of an investigation," the police said.
Quebec's Crown prosecution office, the Directeur des poursuites criminelles et pénales (DPCP), also took to social media to say that anyone with information about the allegations mentioned in the Enquête program should contact police.
"If new elements are submitted to the SPVM, the DPCP will collaborate with the investigators and may review the file," the DPCP said.
