MONTREAL -- Quebec's anti-corruption squad is sending two investigators to Panama to collect evidence proving that Arthur Porter is dead.

The head of the unit says in a release he has received no confirmation from Panamanian authorities that Porter is actually deceased.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecutor's office said they have "a responsibility. We have to make sure that the information on the death of Mr. Porter is really true."

The spokesperson added that until proof of Porter's death is found, the fraud charges he was facing for allegedly taking more than $11 million in kickbacks from construction firm SNC Lavalin in exchange for the $1.3 billion MUHC superhospital contract will stand.

Porter's death will not affect the cases of the five remaining suspects, who are due in court next month.

The 59-year-old Porter is wanted in Canada on fraud charges related to a $1.3-billion contract to build a megahospital in Montreal.

News of the Panama trip came hours after Crown officials in Quebec announced they will not drop the charges against Porter unless they have "irrefutable" evidence he is dead.

Jeff Todd, Porter's biographer, published a statement Wednesday to say Porter's doctor confirmed his patient had succumbed to cancer in Panama, where he had been detained since May 2013 as he fought extradition to Canada.

Porter's longtime friend Karol Sikora, a UK-based oncologist, said he was the first to receive the call.

"I was phoned by the guards in Panama about his death," he said. "He had six guards around his bed 24/7. I can't speak Spanish, it was 5 a.m., they said "Meurta, Meurta," I just got the drift that he was dead."

Porter's doctor in Panama told Radio-Canada that he signed the death certificate without seeing the body, a practice that Sikora said is common in the UK as well.

"There's no requirement in many countries, including Britain, to see the body," he said. "As long as it's a reliable source."

Robert Lafreniere, head of the anti-corruption unit, says an RCMP agent will be in Panama to aid with the investigation.