An Ontario lawyer accused by American authorities of advising a Canadian Olympian-turned-alleged-cocaine kingpin may have his licence to practice law restricted or suspended.
Deepak Paradkar, who went by several aliases, including the “cocaine lawyer,” according to the U.S. Justice Department, was arrested and charged last month in connection to Ryan Wedding’s alleged drug empire.
The 44-year-old Wedding, a snowboarder who was living in Coquitlam, B.C., when he suited up for his country at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, was added to the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list earlier this year.
Paradkar, 62, is accused of advising Wedding to murder a key witness so that he and Andrew Clark, his reported second-in-command, would avoid extradition from Mexico on 2024 criminal charges against them.
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Paradkar is also accused of providing Wedding with court documents and evidentiary materials from the criminal case they would not otherwise have access to.
On Jan. 31, the witness was shot five times while at a restaurant in Medellín, Colombia, and died instantly, according to an indictment unsealed last month.
The allegations against Paradkar have not been tested in court.
The Law Society of Ontario, which regulates the profession in the province, is now looking to suspend and/or restrict Paradkar’s licence to practice law in Ontario.
“The responding party is facing very serious criminal charges in the United States of America involving conspiracy to murder a witness, conspiracy to export and distribute cocaine, and engaging in a criminal enterprise,” the society said in a motion filed with the Law Society Tribunal on Nov. 26.
“There are reasonable grounds for believing that there is a significant risk of harm to members of the public, or to the public interest in the administration of justice, if the order is not made and that making the order is likely to reduce the risk.”
Paradkar’s licence was eventually suspended during a tribunal hearing Friday.
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