Ousted KSA directors hired private investigator to follow critics

The recently-ousted Kwantlen Student Association (KSA) executive board hired a local private investigation firm to secretly investigate several previous board members and a Runner editor.

Invoices show that the student association paid BCS Group Business Services for an investigation into several previous board members and associates, including surveillance of primary suspects, intelligence gathering on targets, cyber monitoring, and surveillance and attendance to primary targets’ residences and places of work.

Though the invoices suggest that there was more than one target, it is unknown exactly how many people the KSA had under surveillance. An email was sent Aug. 9 to BCS, identifying Reena Bali, Harj Dhesi, Nathan Griffiths, Laura Anderson and John O’Brian, as well as Runner news editor Matthew DiMera as targets. That email detailed their home addresses, vehicle makes and models and licence plate numbers.

Bali, Dhesi, Anderson and Griffiths are all former KSA board members, though Dhesi was on the board at the time. Anderson and Griffiths are also former KSA employees. O’Brian still works for the KSA.

According to their website, BCS Investigations is a West Vancouver private investigations and security consulting firm.

Bobby Padda, Jaspinder Ghuman, and Nina Sandhu of the then-KSA executive board signed the out-of-meeting motion to hire BCS Aug. 8.

A letter of engagement with BCS Investigations, dated Aug. 6, was signed by the former director of external affairs, Bobby Padda.

According to that letter, BCS was contracted to “perform an investigation of allegations and other confidential matters regarding the Kwantlen Student Association and some of its Executive Board members. The investigation may include forensic analysis of material and intelligence to date, due diligence and profiling and surveillance.”

The KSA paid out a total of $11,862.92 to BCS Group Business Services between Aug. 8 and Oct. 20, 2011.