Laval police are calling a press conference to provide an update on “major progress” in data leaks at Desjardins.
The press release specifies that the deputy director of criminal investigations, Jean-François Rousselle, will be on site, as will Amélie Bouchard, inspector in the organized crime division, and Normand Clavet, chief inspector in the criminal investigations department.
The main investigation into the theft of data at Desjardins itself was mainly carried out by the Sûreté du Québec from June 2019. However, it began at the Laval police, after bank draft fraud carried out using information stolen from Desjardins, starting in December 2018.
According to our information, Laval investigators have kept parts of the operation focusing on fraud carried out using stolen information.
The Laval police press briefing comes almost five years after the announcement of a massive data theft at Desjardins. On June 20, 2019, the Movement first announced that data on 2.9 million customers had been stolen. He then revised this figure upwards several times. In December 2020, privacy commissions concluded that the theft potentially affected 9.7 million individuals and businesses.
Until now, no criminal charges have been filed.
A former Desjardins employee, Sébastien Boulanger-Dorval, is suspected of having himself gotten his hands on data concerning millions of Desjardins customers. A private lender, Jean-Loup Leullier-Masse then bought them, before passing them on to a group of mortgage and insurance brokers in the capital.
More details to come.
