RCMP has questioned Han Dong’s financial agent in 2019 GTA Liberal nomination race

The RCMP has questioned a veteran Liberal political operative who handled the finances associated with Han Dong’s 2019 campaign for the federal Liberal Party nomination in Toronto’s Don Valley North riding.

In November 2023, the RCMP met and questioned David Pretlove, an Ontario Liberal aide who was Dong’s financial officer for the 2019 nomination contest, but the police force won’t release a recording of that interview, saying its investigation is ongoing.

It is unclear what issues the RCMP are specifically probing and whether they involve criminal allegations, possible campaign finance breaches under the Elections Act or another area of federal jurisdiction.

Han Dong told Global News this spring the RCMP had not contacted him. No charges have been filed. He has denied all wrongdoing.

“I have always been diligent to follow election rules, dating back to 2013,” Dong said in an April 23 email response to Global News. He did not respond to a second, additional request for comment in the past week.

The RCMP interviewed Pretlove eight months after Han Dong resigned as a member of Liberal caucus to sit as an independent member of Parliament. Dong left Liberal caucus after Global News reports about his alleged ties to the People’s Republic of China.

In a series of five interviews with Global News in April and May, Pretlove said two RCMP members interviewed him for almost an hour in November 2023 at Metro Toronto Police Service Division 51 offices, located at Parliament Street and Eastern Avenue. The meeting was arranged by phone.

“It was a conversation more so than answering of any questions,” Pretlove said, adding: “There was no indication that I should bring counsel... They were just trying to get their heads around how this