Ex-construction tycoon Tony Accurso is on the verge of settling with governments, who were demanding millions from him in taxes and reimbursement of corruption-related costs. His companies and himself offer a total of 48 million to their creditors: Quebec, Ottawa and the cities of Montreal and Laval.
The governments claimed a total of 139 million. “These are all claims that have never been confirmed by judgments,” however, mentions the controller and trustee responsible for files at Raymond Chabot, Jean Gagnon.
Overwhelmed by such claims, Constructions Louisbourg ltée went bankrupt last June.
Tony Accurso’s other companies, including Simard-Beaudry Construction Inc., placed themselves under the protection of the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA) from 2020. As for Accurso itself, it placed itself under the protection of the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Law in May 2022.
Raymond Chabot must present a joint plan of arrangement in the two cases, and the meeting of creditors must vote to approve it on February 23. A judge will then have to approve the agreement before the distribution of the sums, scheduled for May.
The last report of the monitor, filed in court on February 6, mentions that Simard-Beaudry and the other companies placed under the CCAA will provide 39.7 million to reimburse creditors. Accurso, for its part, will pay 8.3 million as part of its personal procedures, adds Jean Gagnon.
The ex-entrepreneur will keep his assets
The steps do not provide for the liquidation of the assets of the fallen entrepreneur and his companies. One of its companies will instead take out a loan that will be used to repay creditors.
“Some assets will then be sold, but not in a fire sale,” said one of the lawyers on file for Accurso and its companies, Paul Ryan.
Thanks to the financing he will have obtained, the businessman could take the time to properly negotiate his asset sales, depending on what is planned.
The identity of the private lender who will provide the financing is “confidential”, says Paul Ryan, while specifying that it will not be the Toronto company Third Eye Capital. This financed Accurso’s projects when the banks let it go, from 2013.
Complete confidential report
The documents listing the assets of the companies are not public, Raymond Chabot having produced them under seal.
The land register nevertheless shows that land is one of the main assets of Accurso companies.
One of them controls the limited partnerships that hold land in the heart of Chinatown in Montreal and a large property in Terrebonne. These are arguably the most important assets of Accurso’s businesses.
As for his personal balance sheet, it includes, according to the documents of the trustee, his vast private residence on the edge of Lac des Deux Montagnes, valued at 7.9 million, as well as a collection of wine bottles worth 1 million bucks.
Investment evaporated in a biotech
Comptroller Raymond Chabot’s plan, filed on February 6, reveals that one of Accurso’s companies, 9054-9999 Québec inc., is a shareholder in a small Laval biopharmaceutical company, Liminal Biosciences inc.
Listed on the US NASDAQ Technology Stock Exchange, it specializes in “the development of novel, distinctive small molecule therapeutics for inflammatory, fibrotic and metabolic diseases,” according to its website.
The comptroller’s plan mentions that Accurso’s indirect investment in the company was once worth $64.5 million, but is valued today at just $175,000.
Tony Accurso was sentenced to four years in prison for his role in a vast system of corruption in Laval. He is appealing this decision to the Supreme Court, and a judge has authorized his release, considering that he is not a danger to society.