Frank Stronach, the 91-year-old billionaire founder of one of the world’s largest auto parts companies, was arrested and charged Friday in a sexual assault investigation.
In brief Press ReleasesPolice in Peel Region, outside Toronto, said Mr. Stronach’s alleged crimes spanned from the 1980s to last year.
Stronach, the Austrian-born founder of Magna International, was charged with indecent assault, sexual battery and forcible confinement. He was released from custody and is due to appear in a Brampton, Ontario, court later.
Stronach’s attorney, Brian Greenspan, said his client “categorically denies the allegations of wrongdoing made against him.”
He added: “He looks forward to the opportunity to fully respond to these allegations and uphold his reputation as a philanthropist and Canadian business icon.”
Mr. Stronach built the one-man machine shop he founded in 1957 into a global business. Under his management, Magna also assembled vehicles for several automakers. Including Mercedes-Benzattempting to acquire Chrysler and General Motors’ European subsidiary Opel.
Magna investors often resented Stronach’s use of his control of the company, through a special class of stock, to entangle the company in a variety of sometimes unprofitable ventures unrelated to making auto parts, including a failed restaurant chain, a trendy business magazine, a golf course and horse racing. In 2010, Magna paid Stronach about $1 billion to cede control.
Stronach Group He founded The racetrack is currently run by his daughter, Belinda Stronach, who owns or manages racetracks throughout the United States.
year 2013, Stronach Team, The pro-business protest party founded by Mr Stronach won two seats in Austria’s state parliament.
Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst said in a statement that the company was “unaware of any investigation or allegations beyond those reported in the media.”
The Stronach Group did not respond to a request for comment.
It was not immediately clear why the charges were filed in Peel Region, which is part of the Greater Toronto Area. Mr. Stronach lives in York, also part of the Toronto region, where Magna is headquartered. Tyler Bell, a police spokesman, declined to comment on the investigation.
While leading Magna, Stronach became Canada’s highest-paid executive at one point, but he often made unconventional economic and political comments that some found inappropriate. At the start of the company’s 2007 annual meeting, he did not discuss the Chrysler acquisition but asked shareholders: More attractive to womenhimself or his long-time assistant Manfred Gingl.
Mr Stronach is the second Canadian billionaire to be accused of sexual assault in a week. Montreal police have arrested 21 sexual charges The charges against Robert G. Miller, founder of Future Electronics, include multiple counts of sexual exploitation of minors. Police say he paid several young girls for sex.
