Levitt LLP has commenced an action in the Ontario Superior Court of Justice on behalf of Lubin Wang, former president and CEO of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (Canada), known internally as known ICBK. Mr. Wang’s statement of claim, filed on 6 June and featured on today’s Globe and Mail front page, alleges that he was dismissed on January 27th, 2025 after refusing directives from Beijing that would have violated Canada’s foreign‑interference safeguards and banking‑integrity rules.
Mr. Wang is suing for $3‑million in salary, bonuses, and other entitlements, and seeks aggravated and punitive damages of $750,000 along with bad faith and moral damages of $750,000.According to the claim, senior officials from Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) tried to halt Mr. Wang’s efforts to align ICBK with Parliament’s recent reforms and OSFI’s new Integrity and Security Guideline.
A late‑2024 audit team of foreign representatives allegedly ordered expatriate staff to surrender their passports, interrogated Mr. Wang about personal family matters, and pressed him to present his removal as a routine transfer to Beijing, actions that, Mr. Wang says, revealed ICBK’s vulnerability to undue foreign influence and left him fearful for his and his family’s safety.
“This case represents a clear conflict between Canadian law and how a foreign bank operates in Canada,” says Levitt LLP Senior Counsel Robert Taylor. “Mr. Wang is a victim of that conflict.”
Mr. Wang alleges ICBC attempted to coerce him to disregard Canadian laws and regulations, and when he refused, decided to summarily dismiss his employment.
Levitt LLP is proud to stand with executives who uphold Canadian compliance standards and will pursue the full remedy available to Mr. Wang under Canadian law.
Full article: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/article-icbk-icbc-lubin-wang-foreign-interference-china-beijing/