City to file for $28M judgment after Caspian defendants fail to pay Winnipeg police HQ settlement by deadline | CBC News
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The City of Winnipeg says it’s filing a motion for a $28-million judgment under the terms of a police headquarters lawsuit settlement, after defendants, including the contractor on the troubled project, failed to pay a smaller amount on time.
The 2023 settlement involving Caspian Construction came after city council voted to settle with defendants in lawsuits involving fraud, secret commissions and construction deficiencies in the procurement and building of the downtown Winnipeg Police Service headquarters on Graham Avenue.
The legal action involved Caspian, its owner, Armik Babakhanians, and dozens of people and companies involved in the project.
While the original settlement amount was $21.5 million in 2023, the amount owing increased if deadlines passed without payment.
The maximum $28-million payment the city is now seeking was triggered when the final deadline passed at close of business on Monday, three years after council’s approval of the tiered settlement.
“The city will take all reasonable steps to realize on its security,” city spokesperson David Driedger said in an email Tuesday. “Please note, we cannot provide any further information as it relates to the assets over which the city has security.”
There’s an ongoing public inquiry into the police headquarters project.
At the inquiry on Monday, Caspian owner Babakhanians testified he was preparing to submit a $23-million payment to the city. His lawyer, George Orle, said Babakhanians was working with a Vancouver lender to release the money.
Babakhanians testified he did nothing wrong, and said he only agreed to settle the lawsuit over fraud, forgery and deficiencies because it was hurting his family.
A separate lawsuit launched by the city led a court to determine in 2022 that former Winnipeg chief administrative officer Phil Sheegl accepted a $327,200 bribe from Babakhanians in exchange for favouring Caspian during the bidding process in the project.
Sheegl repeatedly denied that claim during his own testimony before the inquiry last month.
The city said in a Monday news release that its legal actions have already recovered over $1.6 million from various defendants linked to the police headquarters project, including $1.15 million from Sheegl in January.