B.C. woman acquitted of human trafficking case suing governments

A West Vancouver woman accused and acquitted of human trafficking is now suing both the B.C. and federal governments over the alleged ‘injustice’ of her case.

Mumtaz Ladha and other family members filed their lawsuit Monday morning, claiming B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Office targeted her family purely for financial reasons.

A statement from Ladha’s lawyer, David Martin reads: “”[The director] is alleged to have blindly relied on the RCMP investigation to file a negligent and malicious claim to the family home … in an attempt to meet monetary quota requirements.”  The Civil Forfeiture Office had froze the family’s largest asset, their multi-million dollar home, when Ladha needed the money to pay for her defense.

Ladha was accused of human trafficking in 2011 for enticing  a young Tanzanian woman to leave her home and three-year-old child for a job opportunity at a Vancouver salon and a promise of a $200 per month salary. The woman argued that she was instead forced into domestic servitude with no pay, and no means of escape.

She stood trial on four counts under the federal Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, including:

• Human trafficking
• Employing a foreign national without authorization
• Misrepresenting facts to the High Commission of Canada in Tanzania
• Misrepresenting facts to Citizenship and Immigration Canada

In 2013, Ladha was found not guilty on all four counts due to reasonable doubt and the judge’s belief that the accuser was lying.