WHAT THE COURT GAVE HIM THE TAX MAN TAKES AWAY

Police Were Ordered To Return $800,000 Seized From Ex-Stock Trader,
Which Is About What He Owed The Government

Five years ago, police officers investigating one of the largest drug
money laundering schemes in Canada seized almost $800,000 in cash
found in the trunk of a Porsche driven by Piotr Robert Sperka, then a
stock trader.

While the money laundering ringleader Dat Dac Tien (Frank) Tran was
sentenced in 2006 to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to
orchestrating the laundering, Sperka was never charged.

He recently won a court judgement, ordering the Vancouver police to
give him back the money. But Sperka never got the windfall -- thanks
to the long arm of the Canada Revenue Agency.

The tax agency, backed by a Federal Court order, seized the money --
$792,980 to be exact -- and applied it to Sperka's tax debt.

"He still owes the CRA other money but this will cover a huge portion
of his debt," said agency official Ravinder Dhami.

The Federal Court gave the CRA a "jeopardy order" in April, which is
made when there's reason to believe a delay would jeopardize tax collection.

In March of this year, the CRA issued an assessment of $773,763 in
taxes, interest and penalties, based on an estimate of Sperka's income
for the 2002 tax year, said Dhami.

The CRA argued in Federal Court that Sperka failed to file income tax
returns since 2001, Dhami said.

The CRA told the court Sperka had failed to adhere to a repayment
scheme, which he'd worked out with the taxation agency, she added.

The CRA argued it was unlikely Sperka would use the money to repay the
CRA and that he had no other known assets. The CRA also said Sperka's
whereabouts are unknown.

The nearly $800,000 in Sperka's Porsche was found by police involved
in a drug investigation, code-named Project Blizzard, which was
started in 2001 by the Organized Crime Agency of B.C.

Tran pleaded guilty to laundering $200 million in cocaine money
between Jan. 1, 2001 and Jan. 23, 2003. He provided currency exchange
services to cocaine traffickers and marijuana exporters in the Lower
Mainland.

Among the people who received Canadian currency from Tran was Sperka
who allegedly gave $500,000 US to Tran, who exchanged it for the
$793,510 Cdn that police found in the Porsche.

The CRA works closely with other law enforcement agencies through its
special enforcement program, conducting audits and taking action
against people who are known or suspected of deriving income from
illegal activities.

THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME STATISTICS FROM THE PROGRAM:

- - 2003-2004: 1,100 audits (identified $55.9 million in additional tax
owing.)

- - 2004-2005: 1,196 audits (identified $75 million in additional tax
owing.)

- - 2005-2006: 1,349 audits (identified $80 million in additional tax
owing.)