Ripudaman Singh Malik (L) smiles as he leaves a Vancouver court after being found not guilty in the 1985 bombing of an Air India flight off the Irish coast March 16, 2005 .John Lehmann/ The Globe and Mail
After a 10-year dispute over finances, Ripudaman Singh Malik is finally repaying the B.C. government millions of dollars in loans that went to cover his legal bills during the Air India trial where he was acquitted of the murders of 331 people.
The payment of $6.3-million will come from proceeds of the sale of prime property in Vancouver's trendy Yaletown district that closed Tuesday.
However, the payment will not end the matter.
The B.C. government had asked for an additional $1.6-million to cover punitive damages and their legal costs. The government has also indicated its intention to pursue a charge of civil fraud and conspiracy against Mr. Malik and his family members for trying to hide assets during their decade-long dispute.
Mr. Malik declined to comment Tuesday about his decision to repay the loan.
His lawyer, Bruce McLeod, said Mr. Malik initiated court action that led to the sale of the property, which enabled Mr. Malik to pay the outstanding debt in full.
"The province sought an immense amount of money, and it is only by the sale of this property that it has been possible to pay the amount the Attorney-General has been seeking," Mr. McLeod said in an interview.
Rapidly escalating real-estate prices in Yaletown have made repayment of the loan much easier for Mr. Malik. The property, which was owned jointly by Mr. Malik and his wife, Raminder, was sold for $14.5-million. It was valued at $2.5-million in 2003 when the government agreed to provide the loan to pay Mr. Malik's legal bills, according to media reports at that time.
Mr. McLeod said he could not speculate on whether Mr. Malik decided to repay the loan largely as a result of the real-estate windfall.
Attorney-General Shirley Bond's ministry did not respond by late Tuesday to a request for an interview Tuesday.
Mr. Malik, a Vancouver businessman, and Kamloops mill worker Ajaib Singh Bagri were arrested in October, 2000, to face charges related to explosions on opposition sides of the world on June 23, 1985. They were found not guilty in March, 2005.
In one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in aviation history, homemade bombs killed 329 people on an Air India flight over the Atlantic Ocean en route from Toronto to London's Heathrow Airport. Less than an hour earlier, two baggage handlers were killed in an explosion at Tokyo's Narita airport as luggage from a flight from Vancouver was being transferred to an Air India flight.
Evidence in court indicated the bombs were placed on flights leaving Vancouver. Police say the explosives were in luggage taken to the airport by a group of radical Sikhs in conflict with the government of India over the creation of an independent homeland for the Sikhs called Khalistan.
The B.C. government in 2003 agreed to finance Mr. Malik's legal defence in exchange for a commitment to repay the funds. At that time, he and his wife owned properties worth more than $10-million but he said he was almost insolvent with creditors holding claims to most of his assets.
After he was acquitted, the government set out to collect on the outstanding loan. Mr. Malik launched legal challenges against government efforts to collect the funds.
Last week, Mr. Justice Mark McEwan of the B.C. Supreme Court issued an order that cleared the way for Mr. Malik to make the payment once the Yaletown property was sold. The proceeds of the sale were to be split equally between Mr. Malik and his wife. Mr. Malik was to repay the B.C. government from his share.
The family has operated Papillon Eastern Imports Ltd., a wholesale women's clothing business, from 1028 Hamilton St. since the early 1980s. Over the past decade, warehouses in the area have been replaced by swank restaurants, boutiques and condominiums. Mr. Malik's property is now the only warehouse left on the street.