Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former chief of staff, is poised to return to Onex Corp., CEO Gerald Schwartz said yesterday.

Wright, who left the Prime Minister's Office in May 2013 after cutting a personal cheque to pay back improper expenses for Senator Mike Duffy, is a former managing director of the private equity firm.

Schwartz told Bloomberg he is “hopeful” that Wright will return to Onex in the near future and that it is likely he would be posted to the London office of the firm.

Onex is making a push into Europe and set up an office in London two years ago to guide its investment strategy.

A Harvard-trained lawyer, Wright was respected broker of multimillion-dollar deals for Onex Corp. before joining the PMO in 2011. Onex had agreed to hold a job for him for two years.

Wright left his job as the prime minister’s aide in 2013, taking sole responsibility for writing a $90,000 cheque to Duffy. Initially, the story was that Wright had resigned voluntarily, but Harper later said he fired Wright.

The RCMP said in April that Wright would not face criminal charges.