The “consenting female” MP Tony Clement sent sexually explicit images to online, leading to an extortion scandal, turned out to be two men from West Africa, RCMP say.

The men, known only by the initials CH and DML, allegedly posed as a white woman using the name “Brianna Dounia” on LinkedIn and Instagram. Police say they used the fake identity to lure Clement and later blackmail him over photos and video he sent to the account. Clement was allegedly threatened that the images and video would be released if he didn’t pay 50,000 euros. A French citizen was also allegedly extorted by the suspects.

The Ivory Coast cybercrimes unit arrested the two men last month.

An arrest document published by the cybercrimes unit said the arrests were made possible through collaboration with international partners and authorities in the countries of the two victims. The unit said that suspect DML had already served prison time in Ivory Coast for a similar offence.

In a statement to the National Post, the RCMP said: “As a result of excellent collaborative efforts with its internal law enforcement partners, we can confirm that two individuals in Ivory Coast have been charged in this file. National Division RCMP continues to work with its international partners on this matter. No further comments will be made at this time.”

News of the alleged extortion broke on Nov. 6 when Clement, then a member of the Conservative caucus, publicly admitted to being blackmailed.

The RCMP began an investigation and Clement resigned from his position in the Conservative shadow cabinet. At the time, Clement was also a member of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians.

In 2015, when Clement served as a cabinet minister for Stephen Harper, the federal government became aware of “romance scams” coming out of the Ivory Coast. A public warning was issued telling Canadians to be “cautious and avoid sharing personal information with people overseas” due to the high risk of identity theft.

Days after Clement’s announcement, multiple young women took to social media to say they had had odd interactions with Clement on social media that included him following their accounts and liking their pictures despite him not knowing them personally.

Sophie Geffros told Global News that Clement began following her on social media after meeting him at an event when she was 18. She said he would like many of her photos, including ones from beach trips.

Two women in their early twenties told the Toronto Star anonymously that they both had consensual sexual relationships with Clement that included exchanging explicit images, videos and messages.

One of the women told the Star Clement became aware someone had “hacked” into his social media accounts in June 2018. He asked her to delete any records of their interactions and she agreed. She also said, shortly afterwards she was contacted by an Instagram account that alleged Clement behaved inappropriately toward multiple women on social media.

The second woman also said she was contacted via Instagram and that she was offered money to relay details of her relationship with Clement.

The news of Clement’s infidelity led to him being expelled from the Conservative caucus and he made a second public apology conceding that although the affairs were “consensual” they were “absolutely wrong.” Despite a petition by women in his riding of Parry Sound-Muskoka asking him to step down, Clement, who is married to lawyer and author Lynne Golding, with whom he has three children, continues to serve as an independent.