The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is looking into the financial history of Jürgen Schreiber, the CEO of the ownership group behind the Edmonton Oilers.
Schreiber, CEO of OEG Inc. (formerly Oilers Entertainment Group), has been ordered to submit an array of documents to see if he followed tax rules from 2016 to 2019, and to confirm where he was living during those years.
According to a newly published Federal Court ruling, Schreiber, who is also the former head of Rexall and Shoppers Drug Mart, declared himself a non-resident of Canada in December of 2016, claiming primary residence in the Bahamas. However, from 2017 to 2019, he continued to report Canadian rental and employment income through a tax firm.
Despite the German native’s non-resident status, the CRA noted his significant ties to Canada, including property ownership, employment with Canadian companies, and financial transactions with offshore corporations linked to him.
Schreiber became part of the Katz Group in 2016, a major Alberta-based company involved in entertainment, hospitality, and retail cannabis. The Katz Group owns the Edmonton Oilers and previously owned the Rexall drugstore chain until 2016.
According to documents, The CRA launched its audit into Schreiber in 2022 to see if he had reported all of his domestic and offshore transactions for the years he claimed to be living in the Bahamas. However, according to the ruling, the CRA has also claimed “that there is no admissible evidence showing that [Schreiber] was legally a resident of the Bahamas.”
In 2022, Schreiber moved back to Canada and updated his residency status. The CRA began an audit and asked him to provide detailed financial documents about his business activities. Schreiber asked for more time to gather the documents, and the deadline was extended to February 2023, according to the court ruling.
Now, the government is asking the court to ensure he provides all the required information.