Fashion mogul Peter Nygard has signed a consent form allowing him to be extradited to the United States to face charges of sex trafficking.
Justice Glenn Joyal told a Manitoba courtroom Friday morning that the form was signed on Thursday.
This is not the end of the extradition process, as the federal justice minister still has to sign off on the process.
The extradition consent was signed based on only one specific charge of sex trafficking, says Nygard’s lawyer, Brian Greenspan.
Nygard was arrested in December under the Extradition Act and faces nine counts in the Southern District of New York.
Authorities there accuse the 80-year-old of using his influence in the fashion industry to lure women and girls with the promise of modelling and other financial opportunities.
The extradition request from the U.S. details accounts from seven alleged victims who are expected to testify in a criminal trial in that country.
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The women allege their livelihoods and their movements became dependent on having sex with Nygard. They say they were coerced through financial means or physical force.
Documents from the U.S. Attorney’s Office allege Nygard frequently targeted women and underage girls from disadvantaged economic backgrounds.
They allege the criminal conduct occurred over 25 years and involved dozens of women in the United States, the Bahamas and Canada, among other locations.
Nygard was also the subject of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. involving 57 women with similar allegations.
The case was stayed while the criminal proceedings are underway.
Nygard has repeatedly denied all allegations against him.
Nygard has been behind bars at Headingley Correctional Centre since his arrest after being denied bail twice, which he then tried to have overturned by the Supreme Court of Canada.
In September, Canada’s highest court rejected an application from Nygard to hear an appeal of the decision to deny him bail.
Nygard founded his fashion company in Winnipeg in 1967. It grew from a partial stake in a women’s garment manufacturer to a brand name sold in stores around the world.
He stepped down as chairman of his company after the FBI and police raided his offices in New York City in February 2020.
–with files from Elisha Dacey and The Canadian Press