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An Ontario judge is set to decide whether to force Stronach Group to disclose any evidence of a cover-up of sexual misconduct, potentially adding a new dimension to the deepening scandal surrounding the multinational company’s billionaire founder.
The civil court case also offers a glimpse into the deep divisions behind a family dispute between the adult children and grandchildren of auto parts tycoon Frank Stronach.
The conflict has similarities to infighting within another prominent family, according to at least one longtime observer.
“This has a lot of similarities to the family in the novel succession” said Dimitry Anastakis, a business historian and professor at the University of Toronto.
The hit HBO series follows members of the super-rich Roy family — who typically live in luxury — as they battle for control of a media conglomerate led by their aging patriarch.
Like Logan Roy’s fictional rags-to-riches story, Austrian-born Stronach built a successful business empire after immigrating to Canada. But recent criminal charges could destroy the 91-year-old’s fortune.
In June, Peel Regional Police near Toronto charged Stronach with 13 counts, including sexual assault, rape and forcible confinement, stemming from alleged incidents involving 10 complainants between 1977 and February of this year.
In one Interviewed by CBC Fifth Level Earlier this week, Stronach denied any wrongdoing and said he would prove the criminal charges were “lies” and suggested the complainants were motivated by money.
Nonetheless, these allegations—and Media Coverage Suggesting that company assets may have facilitated sexual misconduct — that prompted one of Stronach’s granddaughters, Selena Stronach, to search for answers.
Granddaughter takes over Stronach Group
Lawyers for Selena, 23, who is already embroiled in a long-running legal battle over her family’s wealth, filed a new motion, claiming that “the available records likely reveal a pattern of misconduct by Mr. Stronach, including corporate knowledge and potential facilitation and cover-up.”
Frank Stronach initially made a fortune from Magna International, the auto parts maker he founded in 1957. He later spun off subsidiaries specializing in horse racing and entertainment, which now fall under the umbrella of the Stronach Group. Frank Stronach is no longer directly involved in either company.
Selena Stronach’s attorneys recently asked a judge to order Stronach Group executives, including her aunt Belinda, to turn over any documents related to sexual misconduct complaints against Frank Stronach, such as nondisclosure agreements and payment records.
An Ontario court is hearing a civil lawsuit filed by the 23-year-old granddaughter of billionaire Frank Stronach, who is seeking access to company documents related to sexual misconduct allegations against Stronach, as well as possible hush money.
The motion is part of a broader civil lawsuit filed by Selena and her father, Andrew Stronach, who claim Belinda and others have mismanaged the family fortune. The case is set to go to trial next month.
Anastakis, the business historian, said the civil lawsuit involves more than just the family’s multibillion-dollar fortune.
“I think it’s not just about the legacy of the family, it’s about the financial future and wealth,” he said, adding that second- and third-generation Stronachs may want to distance themselves from the family patriarch’s reputation for corruption.
There are different accounts of the lifestyle of Stronach’s youngest son.
As of 2021, Selena co-owns a 15,000 square foot house with her mother, Katherine, on Stronach Farm in Aurora, Ontario, north of Toronto, where Selena also raises cattle. According to court documents, she accused Belinda of cutting off funding for renovations, which left the home with incomplete plumbing, loose electrical wiring, unfinished walls, and “not a functioning kitchen for years.”
Belinda Stronach’s lawyers called the description of Selena’s living arrangements “ridiculous.” They said the young woman used a family trust to buy a luxury home in Vancouver when she was 19.
According to 2019 Toronto Life Magazine ArticleSelena’s lawyer once admitted that she “grew up in an environment where she was never prohibited from participating in any activity, experience, consumption, or travel.”
Court documents show Andrew Stronach “owns more than 100 properties” in Canada and the United States.
WARNING: VIDEO CONTAINS DISTORY DETAILS | As a woman who has accused Frank Stronach of rape publicly details her allegation, the billionaire businessman spoke to CBC’s The Fifth Estate for the first time. Stronach said he had nothing to hide and that his accusers were after his money.
Stronachs lets lawyers speak in court
At least 14 lawyers representing factions of the family feud packed into a downtown Toronto courtroom on Thursday for a full day of hearings on Selena’s motion.
Belinda’s Children, Equestrian Nicole Walker and the world-traveling DJ Frank Walkerlived relatively public lives, while their cousin shunned the spotlight.
An online search revealed so few photos of Selena that reporters in the courtroom on Thursday whispered to one another, wondering if a young dark-haired woman in the back corner of the courtroom was her.
But that was not the case. Neither of the Stronachs was personally involved in the process.
An attorney for Stronach’s youngest son even refused to say whether Selena was in a photo taken last year at a company-owned thoroughbred racing track in Florida.
“I can neither confirm nor deny,” Matthew Gottlieb said when a reporter showed him the photo and asked if the title correctly identified his client.
Speaking to Ontario Superior Court Justice Peter Osborne, Gottlieb insisted that if the Stronach Group had paid bribes to cover up complaints against the family patriarch, CEO Belinda Stronach and her predecessor Alon Ossip would have known about it.
Ossip’s attorney, Mark Gelowitz, dismissed the allegations as “a series of speculations.”
“This was a strategy by Selena to bring these allegations against Belinda and Aaron to embarrass them in this case that has attracted media attention,” Glowitz said in court.
Belinda Stronach, a former Conservative MP for Newmarket-Aurora who is best known for joining the Liberal cabinet in 2005, is no stranger to legal battles within her family.
In 2020, Control of Stronach’s wealth divided It comes after she and her father reached a settlement in a high-profile lawsuit between Belinda and her parents.
“I am pleased that our differences have been resolved,” Frank Stronach said in a statement at the time.
His wife of 60 years, Elfriede, died in March at the age of 80.
Frank Stronach said by phone Friday that he had no comment on the latest civil case involving his children and grandchildren.
“One day in the future we will have more to say,” he added.
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