Man Who Facilitated Chinese Acquisition of Canadian Oil Assets Wanted for Tax Evasion

Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) national headquarters in Ottawa on June 28, 2024. The Canadian Press/Sean KilpatrickA Canada-wide arrest warrant was issued this week for an individual linked to the “Panama Papers,” a trove of leaked financial records that detailed the use of offshore companies by individuals later investigated for potential tax offences.The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) said in a statement that the warrant was issued against Wentao Yang of Vancouver, B.C., on July 13 after he repeatedly failed to appear in court.Yang formerly resided in Calgary, and the Canada-wide warrant was issued by Alberta’s Court of King’s Bench. This follows the lower Alberta Court of Justice issuing an arrest warrant for Yang in December 2025.Yang was charged the month prior with multiples offences including tax evasion and fraud. He is accused of evading payment of more than $860,000 in GST and income taxes on consulting fees.The CRA says it began its investigation into Yang following the leak of records from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca in 2016. The records released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and other media outlets had sparked global scrutiny, with politicians, celebrities, and other public figures named in the documents.CRA’s investigation into Yang had led to raids in 2018, two targeting his residences in Calgary and West Vancouver, and another at his accountant’s office north of Toronto.The CRA alleges that Yang, who was born in Shanghai, helped Chinese investor groups acquire multiple Canadian oil and gas assets and that he failed to report consulting fees in the 2015 and 2016 taxation years. His company, Kailas Energy Corp., also allegedly failed to report consulting fees in year 2015.“These transactions were done in such a way as to obscure the source of the funds by using several transfers, including through foreign bank accounts, before being deposited into Canadian accounts held by the accused,” the CRA says. Nine charges have been laid against Yang as a result of CRA’s investigation.Data from the ICIJ show that Yang is or was the director and/or shareholder of multiple companies registered in the British Virgin Islands. Another company linked to Yang registered in the Cayman Islands played a central role in an oil patch transaction in 2016.Yang helped facilitate the sale of Calgary oil and gas producer Long Run Exploration to Chinese firm Changchun Sinoenergy for $773 million in 2016. The CRA alleged the acquiring company sent $11.5 million to Marquee Financial, after which Marquee made two wires equivalent of $2.7 million to two TD bank accounts registered to Yang.The Epoch Times was not able to reach Yang or his lawyer for comment. He had told media in 2018 that he took the allegations “very seriously and intend to address them in the fullness of time.” The allegations have not been proven in court.The Epoch Times contacted the CRA for an update on its Panama Papers investigations but didn’t receive a response by publication time.The agency previously said it initially identified over 900 entities with a potential link to Canda and that over 60 percent of taxpayers were “found to be compliant with their tax filing and reporting obligations.”CRA says that as of March 2025, it has completed over 330 taxpayer audits related to the Panama Papers, while another 110 were ongoing. The agency says this resulted in over $119 million in federal taxes and penalties.