Police recover bag stolen from Bank of Canada governor

[jesseps]

The RCMP said on Wednesday it has recovered a travel bag stolen from Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney -- containing internal central bank documents -- when he was in Montreal earlier this month.

 

No arrests have been made and the RCMP’s national security unit continues to investigate the theft, which occurred on Nov. 1 when the central banker was in Montreal on business.

 

The suitcase -- taken from a car parked on a downtown Montreal street -- contained some of Mr. Carney’s personal effects and a variety of documents, among them internal central bank reports, said Bank of Canada spokesman Jeremy Harrison. However, he added the documents had “no market moving” information, nor were the deemed to have government of Canada security classifications.

 

The internal reports in Mr. Carney’s possession dealt with administrative details, such as staff reports, Mr. Harrison said.

 

Neither the RCMP nor the Bank of Canada could say whether all of the documents had been retrieved. The bag remains in police possession as the probe continues.

 

The break-in occurred late in the afternoon of Nov. 1, as a car window was smashed. Mr. Harrison said the governor’s driver was not in the car at the time of the break-in, but added the vehicle’s doors were locked.

 

As a result of the theft from an official Bank of Canada car -- a Chrysler 300 -- the central bank is now reviewing internal security procedures involving the use of central bank vehicles, Mr. Harrison said.

 

The Bank of Canada treats security as a big deal, say people familiar with the central bank’s operations. Visitors to the central bank’s offices are limited in where they can go unless accompanied by armed security guards. Further, Bank of Canada officials are careful not to disclose the location of key offsite areas, such as where it prints paper currency.

 

“In a nutshell, the Bank of Canada is very careful,” said a former employee at the central bank.

 

Meanwhile, car break-ins in downtown Montreal are a common occurrence -- and Mr. Carney isn’t the only high-profile businessman to be recently targeted.

 

Stephan Crétier, chief executive of Montreal-based security company Garda World Security Corp., had his vehicle broken into this past summer and he said everything was stolen.

 

He phoned his security staff, who were later told by Montreal police that 40 vehicles had recently been broken into in one quick spurt.

 

Mr. Crétier recalled: “The police commander tells my staff, because they’re buddies, ‘Well it happens every day. And it’s not a priority.’”

 

(Courtesy of The Montreal Gazette via. The National Post

 

When will people learn, never leave stuff in your car?!