Expanding Legal Proceedings
Legal proceedings against suspended Denesuline Corporation CEO Ron Barlas have expanded to include an Ontario lawyer who held hundreds of ounces of gold Barlas owned. Lawyers for Łutsel K’e Dene First Nation (LKDFN) have submitted documents to the N.W.T Supreme Court, arguing that lawyer Andrew Rogerson delayed their attempts to recover close to a million dollars worth of precious metals that Barlas had entrusted to him, and that he illegally spent a retainer Barlas had paid him.
Court documents reveal that Barlas put Rogerson on retainer on April 26, 2023 — just two days before a court injunction froze all of Barlas’s assets on April 28, with the retainer amounting to $90,000. Rogerson, described as a “leading Canadian authority on asset protection structures and litigating trust issues,” with expertise in offshore tax havens, was holding hundreds of ounces of gold and silver for Barlas, as mentioned during Barlas’s cross-examination.
Hidden Assets Revealed
Barlas testified that Rogerson was safeguarding 300 ounces of gold for him, a valuable asset now exceeding $900,000. This revelation sheds light on Barlas’s affinity for gold as a secure investment choice. However, questions arose regarding Rogerson’s handling of the assets when LKDFN lawyers reached out to him about the freeze on Barlas’s assets, which he initially failed to respond to promptly.
After persistent inquiries from LKDFN lawyers, Rogerson eventually confirmed that the gold was still in his firm’s safe and that the retainer had been used to pay for legal services provided to Barlas. However, a detailed list of the precious metals was only provided following a court order, leading to the eventual retrieval of the assets and the ongoing legal battle.
Legal Complications and Accusations
Rogerson’s handling of Barlas’s assets and the delays in the legal proceedings have caused friction between the involved parties. LKDFN’s lawyers are now seeking the return of the $90,000 retainer and compensation for what they perceive as unnecessary delays attributed to Rogerson’s actions.
Rogerson, in his defense, claimed that he spent the retainer assuming court approval would be obtained by Barlas’s other lawyers and attributed any delays to innocent mistakes or health issues. He also accused LKDFN lawyers of having a personal vendetta against him, alleging that they were misconstruing normal occurrences as severe misconduct.
