Ontario court has frozen GiveSendGo funds donated to protesting truckers.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Ontario government says it has successfully petitioned a court to freeze access to millions of dollars donated through GiveSendGo to the convoy protesting COVID-19 restrictions in Ottawa and other border crossings.
A spokeswoman for Premier Doug Ford said the order was received from the Superior Court of Justice that prohibits anyone from distributing donations made through the website’s “Freedom Convoy 2022” and “Adopt-a-Trucker” campaign pages.
Ivana Yelich said the order binding “any and all parties with possession or control over these donations” was issued on Thursday afternoon.
Yelich cited a section of the Criminal Code that allows the Attorney General to apply for a restraint order against any “offence-related property.”
Two weeks ago, hundreds of semi-trucks rolled into downtown Ottawa to protest COVID-19 vaccine mandates and health restrictions and now trucks are also blockading border crossings in Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario.
Last week, it was announced that donors initially raised more than $10-million through GiveSendGo, however, there were speculations that the online fund raising site was pulling the plug on the campaign adding that the money would be refunded.
According to the site, the demonstration which was initially believed to be peaceful, became a concern after police and local leaders said it had become an “occupation.”
Convoy organisers quickly set up new campaigns on Christian fundraising site GiveSendGo. As of Thursday, “Freedom Convoy 2022″ had raised $US8.4-million and “Adopt-a-Trucker” had amassed more than $686,000.
GiveSendGo posted a statement on Twitter Thursday night about its “Freedom Convoy” campaign.
It added, “Know this! Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo.
“All funds for EVERY campaign on GiveSendGo flow directly to the recipients of those campaigns, not least of which is The Freedom Convoy campaign.”
However, as at Wednesday, organisers have also touted the cryptocurrency Bitcoin as another way to generate funds for protesters and avoid other potential fundraising shutdowns, including during a news conference that was livestreamed to supporters.
Government’s move to freeze access to the donations comes the same day as an all-party House of Commons committee of MPs heard testimony from Deputy Directors of Canada’s financial intelligence hub about how it doesn’t cover crowdfunding sites like GoFundMe.
The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) has a mandate to identify money linked to terrorist financing and money laundering from reports it receives each year from entities including banks, insurance companies, money service businesses and casinos.
Although the Canada’s financial intelligence unit doesn’t investigate potential crimes or stop money from flowing, FINTRAC passes its intelligence onto police.
Its Deputy Director Barry MacKillop testified that it doesn’t regulate crowdfunding sites like GiveSendGo and so wouldn’t receive from it reports of suspicious transactions.
The MPs heard that the payment services that users rely on to send money to crowdfunding campaigns, like PayPal, and the banks that in turn deposit the cash do fall under is reporting requirements.
He said, “The intersection with the crowdfunding platforms and our financial institutions is a must in order to disperse the money.
“If the money were going through a Canadian bank, for example, and directed to the Proud Boys – they’re a listed terrorist organization. That money would be stopped by the bank.”
Another Deputy Director at FINTRAC, Annette Ryan testified that this gives them a line of sight into the crowdfunding sector.
