By Catherine Lévesque
Copyright nationalpost
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Prime Minister Mark Carney speaks at a news conference at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2025. Photo by Mark CarneyArticle contentOTTAWA — The lawyer representing Ibrahim El-Hakim, the former RBC employee who allegedly accessed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s banking profile, said he is still awaiting some of the Crown’s evidence against his client and will be back in court on Nov. 5.Sign In or Create an Accountor View more offersArticle contentCriminal lawyer Ron Guertin appeared in the Ottawa courthouse on Wednesday to request that the matter related to his client be deferred for a few weeks, as he is still expecting some more “disclosure” to arrive. Disclosure refers to the package containing the prosecution’s evidence, and can include video footage, witness statements and more.Article contentArticle contentArticle contentSpeaking to reporters afterwards, Guertin declined to go into detail about the evidence presented against his client but suggested that the entire case was being overblown.Article contentExclusive NewsletterPolitical HackPolitical Hack gets at what’s really going on behind the scenes on Parliament Hill. Wednesdays and Fridays.Subscribe NowSee all of our newslettersArticle content“There’s nothing much that I can say about it, to tell you the truth. I know that all the sensationalism is about Mr. Carney,” he said. “He isn’t even one of the charges.”Article contentLast week, the RCMP revealed that El-Hakim, a 23-year-old man, was arrested on July 10, 2025, and released on a promise to appear with conditions. He was charged with fraud over $5,000, unauthorized use of his work computer, identity theft and trafficking in identity information. Further charges may be laid against him as the investigation progresses.Article contentAccording to a police affidavit obtained by Postmedia, El-Hakim admitted to a supervisor at RBC that he was lured by an individual on Telegram, an encrypted messaging service known to be used by criminals. The individual’s alias on Telegram was “AI WORLD” and is believed to be part of a group linked to organized crime, according to the document.Article contentArticle contentEl-Hakim received certain orders to either grant lines of credit or accept credit card applications to fraudulent identities, and received $500 each time, for a total of $5,000. He was then paid by electronic bank transfers to his accounts at CIBC and TD Bank.Article contentHe was also asked to access specific banking profiles to consult confidential information.Article contentIn checking El-Hakim’s browsing history, RBC found that their employee had accessed Carney’s personal banking profile — though it is unclear if he was asked to do it by the individual who contacted him on Telegram or if he did on his own volition.Article contentCourt documents show that El-Hakim also consulted the banking profile of a “Justin Trudeau” but it is not believed to be the former prime minister’s account.Article contentCheryl Brean, director of communications of personal and commercial banking at RBC, said the bank “took immediate action to engage authorities” when they found out about El-Hakim’s illicit activities and confirmed that he is no longer an employee at RBC.Advertisement 1This advertisement has not loaded yet.Trending Alberta separatists boast cabinet-level meeting with Trump administration News U.S. government shutdown: Canadians should expect delays and long wait times at airports, experts warn Canada Advertisement 1Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. FIRST READING: Canadian bill would strip internet access from ‘specified persons’ NP Comment ‘I am not a U.S. citizen’: Video shows border agents chasing cyclist after being provoked repeatedly World André Pratte: The Trudeau-Carney era’s catastrophic mismanagement NP Comment
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Article contentEl-Hakim was not in court on Wednesday. Guertin however said his client is “doing well.”Article contentGuertin would not speculate on the next steps as long as he does not have all the evidence in hand. “I’m going to get what I can get from the Crown, which I expect, hopefully today, and then we all move forward, and then make a plan as to how to move forward,” he said.Article contentGuertin blamed the slow process on the RCMP — adding that if this were a local police case, he would have had everything he needed “a long time ago.”Article content“It’s a national police force, so I don’t have everything yet, and I can’t even comment on what I have, because I don’t know what I have,” he said.Article contentThe RCMP did not immediately respond to those claims.Article contentEl-Hakim is not expected to appear in court on Nov. 5 either, his lawyer said.Article content“No, it’ll be me. Just one pretty face,” said Guertin.Article contentNational Post calevesque@postmedia.comArticle contentOur website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our politics newsletter, First Reading, here.Article content
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