Air Canada has fired back in a lawsuit by security firm Brink91裸聊视频檚, saying the airline bears no responsibility for the daring theft of $23.8 million in gold and cash from its facilities at Toronto91裸聊视频檚 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 Brink91裸聊视频檚 filing last month.
In a Nov. 8 statement of defence, Air Canada rejected 91裸聊视频渆ach and every allegation91裸聊视频� in the Brink91裸聊视频檚 suit, saying it fulfilled its carriage contracts and denying any improper or 91裸聊视频渃areless91裸聊视频� conduct.
The country91裸聊视频檚 largest airline goes on to say that Brink91裸聊视频檚 failed to note the value of the haul on the waybill 91裸聊视频� a document typically issued by a carrier with details of the shipment 91裸聊视频� and that if Brink91裸聊视频檚 did suffer losses, a multilateral treaty known as the Montreal Convention would cap Air Canada91裸聊视频檚 liability.
91裸聊视频淏rink91裸聊视频檚 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 Canada91裸聊视频檚 knowledge, elected not to insure these shipments,91裸聊视频� the Air Canada filing reads, adding that Brink91裸聊视频檚 was 91裸聊视频渇ully aware of the consequences.91裸聊视频�
In Federal Court filings last month that claim breach of contract and millions of dollars in damages, Brink91裸聊视频檚 said an 91裸聊视频渦nidentified individual91裸聊视频� gained access to the airline91裸聊视频檚 cargo warehouse and presented a 91裸聊视频渇raudulent91裸聊视频漺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 91裸聊视频� currently worth about $21.1 million 91裸聊视频� plus nearly US$2 million in cash to the thief, who promptly 91裸聊视频渁bsconded with the cargo.91裸聊视频�
Even the cash 91裸聊视频� it converts to nearly $2.7 million Canadian 91裸聊视频� weighed a bundle, with the banknotes registering more than 53 kilograms.
The suit claims Air Canada was 91裸聊视频渘egligent91裸聊视频� and failed to follow through on 91裸聊视频渁ppropriate security measures91裸聊视频� to prevent theft of the goods.
A pair of Swiss companies 91裸聊视频� precious metals refinery Valcambi SA and retail bank Raiffeisen Schweiz 91裸聊视频� contracted Brink91裸聊视频檚 to provide security and logistics for the shipment and compensate them for any losses, according to the Brink91裸聊视频檚 suit. The gold was bound for Toronto-Dominion Bank, while the cash was en route to the Vancouver Bullion and Currency Exchange.
Brink91裸聊视频檚 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 Brink91裸聊视频檚 failed to pay an extra fee or a make a 91裸聊视频渟pecial declaration of interest in delivery,91裸聊视频� Air Canada is not liable for losses, the statement of defence claims, citing the Montreal Convention, which applies to international flights.
However, the Brink91裸聊视频檚 filing argues that it did pay a premium and the waybills were clearly marked as 91裸聊视频渂anknotes91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频済oldbars,91裸聊视频� on top of a warning on the paperwork: 91裸聊视频淪pecial supervision is requested. Valuable cargo.91裸聊视频� The Montreal Convention thus imposes no ceiling on the sum it can recover from the carrier, according to Brink91裸聊视频檚.
A police investigation is ongoing, with no arrests so far and the shipments still missing.
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