WARRANTS ALLEGE RAIL INFO TRADED FOR PERSONAL GAIN

The release of search warrants that led police to seize documents and
computers from the provincial legislature last December has confirmed that
two high-ranking provincial bureaucrats are suspected of taking bribes in
return for inside information about the sale of BC Rail.

The documents, released Friday, allege that Dave Basi, former ministerial
assistant to Finance Minister Gary Collins, and Bob Virk, Basi's
counterpart in the Transportation Ministry, provided confidential
information about the BC Rail deal to Pilothouse Pacific, a Victoria-based
lobbying firm working on behalf of the U.S. bidder OmniTRAX.

The alleged improprieties, which could result in charges related to breach
of trust, fraud and money laundering, surround the sale of the Roberts Bank
spur of BC Rail.

The province short-listed three bidders to buy the line - Southern Railway;
OmniTRAX and a consortium that includes CN Rail, CP Rail and the Vancouver
Port Authority. BC Rail was eventually sold to CN in a $1-billion deal that
closed earlier this year.

RCMP Cpl. Andrew Cowan, the officer who compiled the warrant information,
alleges that Basi and Virk assisted Pilothouse principal Erik Bornman in
the tendering process in return for personal benefit.

"I believe that Basi and Virk received a benefit from the actions with
Pilothouse and Bornman. I believe that Bornman offered or provided a
benefit to Basi and Virk for their assistance within the duties of
employment," Cowan wrote. "I believe Basi obtained government documents
with regard to upcoming public tenders or sale from Virk."

The warrants go on allege that Basi "is believed to have offered, delivered
or caused to have been delivered, government documents to" Bruce Clark,
brother of deputy premier Christy Clark.

Bornman, a key B.C. organizer for Prime Minister Paul Martin's leadership
campaign offered Basi and Virk recommendations pertaining to jobs with the
federal government, the warrants say.

Bornman made those recommendations despite knowing that Basi and Virk had
"fabricated or exaggerated" their resumes, the warrants allege.

The warrants note that the person responsible for the BC hiring pool of
Paul Martin's transition government is Christy Clark's husband Mark
Marissen and state that Basi had contacted Marissen in an effort to secure
a federal government job.

The warrants also confirm that the raid on Basi and Virk's government
offices originated with an investigation into Basi's alleged role in drug
trafficking and organized crime.

"The criminal investigation of Basi initially concerned the proceeds of
crime and corruption," Cowan noted.

Based on information uncovered in the drug and organized crime
investigation, police obtained search warrants for Basi's office at the
legislature, Virk's office at the legislature, Basi's Victoria home.

Pilothouse's head office in James Bay, Erik Bornman's home office in
Vancouver, Bruce Clark's Vancouver home and a central B.C. government
computer server in Victoria.

The warrants make it clear that only Virk and Basi are under investigation.

None of the information contained in the warrants has been proven in court.

Vancouver lawyer William Berardino, the special prosecutor overseeing the
case, has said that the organized crime and drug trafficking aspect of the
investigation should be completed by the end of September.

That will be followed by deliberations on whether charges should be laid.

A decision on charges relating to the non-drug warrants isn't expected
until late this year, he said.