Charges stayed in financial fraud case against U.K. man who was extradited to Canada

Charges have been stayed against a United Kingdom man who had been extradited to Canada in 2021 to face fraud and theft charges in B.C., according to the B.C. Prosecution Service.

The more than two dozen charges were stayed against Peter Kevin Miller by B.C. provincial court judge Ellen Gordon on Jan. 3 because of delays, said service spokesman Dan McLaughlin.

“Having cases stayed for unreasonable delay is clearly not in the public interest. We have reviewed the circumstances that led to the delay in this case in our efforts to reduce the likelihood of this happening in the future, and we will continue our efforts to ensure that charges are resolved in as timely a manner as possible,” Laughlin said in a written statement.

The 13 charges of fraud over $5,000 and 13 charges of theft over $5,000 were filed on Jan. 30, 2017, against Miller, in his early 70s, following an investigation by the Vancouver police.

McLaughlin noted that in this case, the delay that resulted in the judicial stay was calculated from the time following the swearing of the charges to the expected conclusion of the trial.

The court found that the total delay after consideration of the various factors, including the extradition process, exceeded the time frames established in a 2016 Supreme Court of Canada case, said McLaughlin.

Experts said earlier it was unusual for Canada to seek an extradition for financial crime. Most extradition cases in Canada involve sending Canadians to the U.S. to face criminal charges there.

Canada had to make a request to the British government on behalf of the B.C. Prosecution Service for Miller’s return to Canada.

A Vancouver man who lost money in the alleged investment fraud said he was disappointed that a lot of money and energy was spent on the enforcement side and then the charges were stayed for delay, which he considered a technical issue.

The investor, who did not wish to be named, said a trial would have provided more information and insight.

The Vancouver Police Department declined to comment on the stay of charges. Earlier, the VPD had also declined to comment on the scope of the case, the number of victims and the amount of money alleged to have lost because it was before the courts.

The B.C. Prosecution Service noted that it has been working to reduce delays and improve efficiencies for several years and is seeing results.

In 2017, charges in 16 cases were stayed because of delay. By 2022, that had been reduced to three.

McLaughlin said reforms have included streamlining the prosecution service’s administrative processes and the development of an electronic Crown counsel scheduling system.