Jump to full article: Reuters, 2007-05-31
Author: Allan Dowd
Intro: A Canadian court ruled on Wednesday that JTI-Macdonald Corp. and a former company executive should stand trial for alleged involvement in massive cigarette smuggling scheme in the 1990s.
But the Ontario Court of Justice dismissed charges against six other executives of the cigarette maker, which was previously named RJR-Macdonald and its then-parent, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco International.
JTI-Macdonald is now a unit of Japan Tobacco Inc.
Police have accused JTI-Macdonald of scheming to sell cigarettes to U.S. suppliers from 1991 to 1996, knowing the tobacco was going to be smuggled back into Canada to avoid high taxes that were aimed at reducing smoking. . . .
The court in Toronto issued its ruling after a lengthy preliminary hearing. A standard publication ban prohibits the media from reporting details of the evidence until it is presented in the criminal trial.
In addition to the company, the court ruled there was enough evidence for Edward Lang, who was RJR-Macdonald's chief executive during the 1990s, to stand trial. . . .
Another executive, former RJR-Macdonald vice president Stanley Smith, pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge during the preliminary hearing and is now cooperating with the prosecution as a witness.
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