Doctor facing charges in $1.3 billion health scandal to fight extradition

THE MAN at the center of a $1.3 billion scandal in Montreal who was arrested in Panama this week, has decided to fight extradition to Canada. 

Arthur Porter has changed his mind and will now fight extradition back to Canada where he is facing fraud charges, says his lawyer Ricardo Bilonick Paredes .

Minutes after he left Porter's cell Thursday, Paredes told CBC News that the former CEO of Montreal’s McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) plans to oppose extradition from Panama.

Porter had indicated on Wednesday that he did not intend to challenge the process, but his lawyer said the plan changed following consultations with his client.
Porter's lawyer Ricardo Bilonick Paredes spoke to CBC in Panama City on Thursday May 30
Paredes also said Porter is now requesting that his doctor from the Bahamas come to Panama to treat him. The 57-year-old oncologist diagnosed himself with stage 4 cancer earlier this year while living in Nassau, Bahamas, where he operated a clinic.
Porter and his wife Pamela were arrested earlier this week at an airport hotel in Panama City. He was wanted on an international warrant issued in February, charging him with fraud and laundering the proceeds of a crime, as well as other allegations. He's accused of being at the heart of a fraud scandal involving the $1.3-billion MUHC superhospital project in Montreal, the largest of its kind in Canada. https://www.newsroompanama.com/panama/5795–13-billion-montreal-health-scandal-suspect-arrested-in-panama.html