Air Canada has fired back in a lawsuit by security firm BrinkB次元官网网址檚, saying the airline bears no responsibility for the daring theft of $23.8 million in gold and cash from its facilities at TorontoB次元官网网址檚 Pearson airport earlier this year.
A thief walked walked away with the costly cargo after presenting a phoney document at an Air Canada warehouse on April 17, according to the BrinkB次元官网网址檚 filing last month.
In a Nov. 8 statement of defence, Air Canada rejected B次元官网网址渆ach and every allegationB次元官网网址� in the BrinkB次元官网网址檚 suit, saying it fulfilled its carriage contracts and denying any improper or B次元官网网址渃arelessB次元官网网址� conduct.
The countryB次元官网网址檚 largest airline goes on to say that BrinkB次元官网网址檚 failed to note the value of the haul on the waybill B次元官网网址� a document typically issued by a carrier with details of the shipment B次元官网网址� and that if BrinkB次元官网网址檚 did suffer losses, a multilateral treaty known as the Montreal Convention would cap Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 liability.
B次元官网网址淏rinkB次元官网网址檚 Switzerland Ltd. elected for its own reasons not to declare a value for carriage and to pay the standard rate for the AC Secure services product and, to Air CanadaB次元官网网址檚 knowledge, elected not to insure these shipments,B次元官网网址� the Air Canada filing reads, adding that BrinkB次元官网网址檚 was B次元官网网址渇ully aware of the consequences.B次元官网网址�
In Federal Court filings last month that claim breach of contract and millions of dollars in damages, BrinkB次元官网网址檚 said an B次元官网网址渦nidentified individualB次元官网网址� gained access to the airlineB次元官网网址檚 cargo warehouse and presented a B次元官网网址渇raudulentB次元官网网址漺aybill shortly after an Air Canada flight from Zurich landed at Pearson.
The statement of claim says staff then handed over 400 kilograms of gold in the form of 24 bars B次元官网网址� currently worth about $21.1 million B次元官网网址� plus nearly US$2 million in cash to the thief, who promptly B次元官网网址渁bsconded with the cargo.B次元官网网址�
Even the cash B次元官网网址� it converts to nearly $2.7 million Canadian B次元官网网址� weighed a bundle, with the banknotes registering more than 53 kilograms.
The suit claims Air Canada was B次元官网网址渘egligentB次元官网网址� and failed to follow through on B次元官网网址渁ppropriate security measuresB次元官网网址� to prevent theft of the goods.
A pair of Swiss companies B次元官网网址� precious metals refinery Valcambi SA and retail bank Raiffeisen Schweiz B次元官网网址� contracted BrinkB次元官网网址檚 to provide security and logistics for the shipment and compensate them for any losses, according to the BrinkB次元官网网址檚 suit. The gold was bound for Toronto-Dominion Bank, while the cash was en route to the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange.
BrinkB次元官网网址檚 arranged in mid-April for Air Canada to haul the cargo to Toronto from Switzerland. It was delivered at Pearson just before 4 p.m. on a drizzly Monday, deposited at a glass-walled Air Canada warehouse on site at 5:50 p.m. and retrieved by the mysterious thief, who showed up 42 minutes later, the filings state.
Because BrinkB次元官网网址檚 failed to pay an extra fee or a make a B次元官网网址渟pecial declaration of interest in delivery,B次元官网网址� Air Canada is not liable for losses, the statement of defence claims, citing the Montreal Convention, which applies to international flights.
However, the BrinkB次元官网网址檚 filing argues that it did pay a premium and the waybills were clearly marked as B次元官网网址渂anknotesB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址済oldbars,B次元官网网址� on top of a warning on the paperwork: B次元官网网址淪pecial supervision is requested. Valuable cargo.B次元官网网址� The Montreal Convention thus imposes no ceiling on the sum it can recover from the carrier, according to BrinkB次元官网网址檚.
A police investigation is ongoing, with no arrests so far and the shipments still missing.
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