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A Quebec real estate developer who has two arrest warrants across Canada was detained Tuesday by authorities in Martinique, a French Caribbean island.
Jean-François Malot of Joliette, Quebec, was found guilty of ordering an armed attack on a lawyer in 2020. Radio-Canada confirmed news of the arrest on Tuesday after an initial report Montreal Magazine.
Radio-Canada sources say Malo was arrested in connection with a crime allegedly committed in Martinique.e, and not in connection with the two warrants issued against him.
Tian Meng, prosecutor Director of Crime and Prosecution (DPCP) confirmed two Canadian warrants against Malo. One is a detention order following a five-year prison sentence, and the other is an arrest warrant for an alleged violation of conditions of release.
However, Sgt. Héloïse Cossette, a spokeswoman for the Sûreté du Québec, declined to confirm Malot's arrest. She said when a person wanted by Canadian authorities is abroad, extradition proceedings can be initiated, although the process is confidential.
“We are currently verifying information received about this person,” she said.
Malo had been considered a fugitive from justice since mid-October, when the judge hearing his case issued an arrest warrant after he failed to appear in court several times for his sentencing hearing.
Malo was found guilty of aggravated assault in May. The court heard that during a legal dispute with Desjardins, Malo hired two men who opened fire on the house of Nicholas Daudelin, lawyer representing the financial institution at the time. Dodelen was wounded in the leg.
Although Malo was found guilty of assault stemming from the 2020 incident, the Crown was unable to prove the attempted murder charge.
