The Law Society of New Brunswick is questioning the time it has taken the Fredericton Police Force to investigate a lawyer who stole more than $720,000 from clients before disappearing.

Yassin Choukri was disbarred in 2017 after a discipline hearing determined he misappropriated money from 10 former clients over several years.

The law society handed its evidence over to the Fredericton police in late 2017. So far, no charges have been filed.

"Enough is enough," Marc Richard, executive director of the law society, said in an interview Tuesday. "At the end of the day, we're asking the police to move with this file."

The Fredericton police initially said it would be "inappropriate" to comment, but later issued a 600-word statement detailing the steps taken by the force.

Marc Richard, executive director of the Law Society of New Brunswick, says the case raises questions about the handling of allegations of white collar crime in the province. (Ed Hunter/CBC)

"While we respect the Law Society's position and frustration, given the multiple agencies, institutions, jurisdictions and complainants involved, the process can be slow and arduous," Martin Gaudet, the city's deputy police chief, said in the statement.

"Our intent is to continue to pursue any criminal charges that may arise from the ongoing investigation."

Richard had said the law society didn't have a clear answer for why the investigation had taken so long.

"It's not complicated, if the money's not there, it's a theft," Richard said. "This is not like a ponzi scheme or difficult to follow and trace the money."

'Complex' investigation

However,Gaudet described it as a "complex" investigation that began in December 2016 when two separate fraud complaints were filed.

New Brunswick is one of several jurisdictions in Canada where criminal charges must be pre-approved by a Crown prosecutor before being laid in court.

While the investigation was ongoing, the law society disbarment hearing in 2017 led to police receiving five more files related to the overall investigation.

Fredericton Police Force Deputy Chief Martin Gaudet speaks outside the police station in August 2018 following a shooting that killed two members of the force. (Catherine Harrop/CBC)

The statement said the Crown's office in New Brunswick declared a conflict of interest and forwarded the file to the Crown in Nova Scotia for consideration.

Police met with the Halifax prosecutor in July 2018, but charges were not approved at the time and further investigation was required.

The following month, two members of the Fredericton police were shot and killed, which Gaudet said affected staffing and led to a lapse in work on the case until January 2019.

Due to a lack of expertise in forensic accounting, the force contacted the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada and Forensic Accounting Management Group for help.

Last fall, it was determined that more information was required. Around that time, a new investigator was assigned to the case.

Loss 'significantly more' than first reported

Gaudet said the new investigator increased the total number of files - separate investigations under the umbrella of the overall investigation - from seven to nine.

Gaudet said the force estimates the investigation has "increased the total loss to significantly more than was first reported" by the law society.

The Nova Scotia Crown's office this month approved orders for information from three financial institutions, the statement said.

Gaudet said police are awaiting the information requested, which could result in a recommendation of charges once a forensic analysis is completed.

Largest case in decades

The law society considers it one of the largest cases of misappropriation of funds by one of its members in decades.

Richard said the case raises questions about how white collar crime is investigated while people accused of minor theft face swifter action.

Choukri was a law partner of former premier Bernard Lord and served as the chief of staff in Lord's office.

Choukri was appointed deputy minister of justice in 2003, but left government after the Progressive Conservatives lost the 2006 election.

He was appointed the public intervenor for hearings before the Energy and Utilities Board by the Alward government in 2010.

Choukri abandoned his legal practice and briefly disappeared in 2016.

Documents filed by the law society stated Choukri had a gambling problem and had received complimentary rooms and meals at Casino Moncton.

His whereabouts weren't known when the allegations against him first surfaced. During the discipline hearing in 2017, the law society revealed it tracked Choukri down at an apartment in Mississauga, Ont.

Richard said Tuesday he's not sure if Choukri still lives there.

Yassin Choukri was arrested in Ontario by the Peel Regional police 12 days after a Canada-wide warrant was issued. (CBC)

Some of Choukri's clients were repaid through the law society's compensation fund, which comes out of the pockets of every lawyer in New Brunswick. That cost the law society $231,149.53.

The society also spent more than $121,000 to hire a custodian to oversee all of Choukri's files, plus another $43,000 to investigate the case.

The law society and Canadian Lawyers Insurance Association filed a statement of claim against Choukri in September 2019 seeking more than $270,000 related to the investigation, payments to his clients and other costs.

Choukri has not filed a statement of defence.