Warrants issued for organized crime money launderer who may have tried to flee Canada

Meghan Grant · CBC News

· Posted: May 02, 2025 6:04 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

A Calgary antheral awaiting sentencing aft pleading blameworthy to laundering wealth for organized crime may person tried to fly the country. Warrants person been issued for his arrest.

Talal Fouani pleaded blameworthy much than 2 years agone but has not been sentenced yet arsenic his substance drags done the tribunal process. 

In August 2022, conscionable aft helium was charged with wealth laundering, Fouani and his woman were sitting successful their Bentley erstwhile a antheral walked up to the conveyance and changeable both.

Nakita Baron died, Fouani was injured but survived. 

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Michael Tyrel Arnold, who is from Edmonton, was convicted of execution and attempted execution pursuing a proceedings earlier this year. 

Fouani believes the shooting was related to his charges earlier the court.

On Friday, Fouani was expected to look successful tribunal but did not amusement up.

'He whitethorn person made an effort to permission Canada'

Federal prosecutor Shelley Tkatch asked Justice Karim Jivraj to contented a warrant for Fouani's arrest. 

"Normally, Mr. Fouani has been precise diligent in showing up," said Tkatch. 

"I person received immoderate accusation that helium whitethorn person made an effort to permission Canada a fewer weeks ago."

Jivraj granted the Crown's petition and issued the warrants.

Fouani nary longer has a lawyer. 

Yoav Niv, his archetypal lawyer, got disconnected grounds aft the justice denied an exertion to recuse himself. At the time, Fouani told the tribunal helium was broke aft paying Niv $500,000 successful ineligible fees. 

Co-accused's charges stayed

Fouani and his second lawyer, Greg Dunn, precocious parted ways.

The lawsuit was backmost successful tribunal Friday truthful the justice could beryllium updated connected whether Fouani has recovered a caller lawyer to correspond him astatine a three-day sentencing proceeding acceptable to instrumentality spot successful August. 

Fouani's convictions related to a constabulary probe into a massive, cross-border cause trafficking cognition involving Mexican cartels.

At the clip charges were laid, constabulary said the $55-million cause bust involving astir 1 metric tonne of methamphetamine and six kilograms of cocaine was the largest ever successful Alberta. 

Last September, conscionable weeks earlier Fouani's Jordan hearing, the Crown stayed the charges faced by his co-accused, including the alleged person of the organized transgression syndicate, Ricco King. 

Fouani has repeatedly expressed vexation that helium was facing jailhouse clip erstwhile astir of his co-accused saw their charges dropped.