An Ontario decision in September of 2021 allowed the claim of the employer, Sunwing Airlines against its prior employee for his receipt of kickbacks in the sum of $500,000 plus a further $200,000 in punitive damages and a further sum of $210,000 for costs. Needless to say, the employee’s claim for damages for termination failed. The employer’s case actually originated by its counterclaim.

The company was successful in proving its past employee had been paid compensation from a contractor in Cuba over a five year period.

The company was advised of this scheme by the Cuban principal. It then terminated the employee for cause and also acquired from him a promissory note by which he promised to repay the funds to Sunwing.

Prior to the trial decision, the employer had obtained a Mareva injunction preventing the employee from disposing of his residence pending the hearing of the case on its merits. In a supplementary decision following the trial, the court imposed a constructive trust over the home of the defendant as he had used the illicit payments to pay off her mortgage.