The Big Read: Saudi Investment Bank says it has nothing to do with mysterious Canadian lobbyist – The Logic The Big Read: Saudi Investment Bank says it has nothing to do with mysterious Canadian lobbyist – The Logic

On June 1, 2025, B.C.-based businessman Darryl Williams registered to lobby the federal government for the Saudi Investment Bank (SAIB), claiming that the bank wishes to finance large amounts of money in Canadian projects. The SAIB denied any relationship with Williams as well as any interest in funding Canadian projects, prompting an investigative report by The Logic.

Osler Corporate partner and Chair of the Digital Assets and Blockchain practice, Matthew Burgoyne, spoke to The Logic for their story and commented on how a loan agreement document provided by Williams between the SAIB and a potential Canadian client raises suspicion regarding the validity of Williams’ claims. Pointing to grammatical and formatting errors, inconsistent terminology, indications of advance-fee fraud and a lack of discussion on security, money transfer and anti-money laundering laws, Matthew concludes that the document is likely falsified.

“The absence of these is glaring and likely indicative of a scam,” says Matthew.

Read the full article published on July 14, 2025, by Joanna Smith and Catherine McIntyre on The Logic website.