Canadian Frank Stronach, a 91-year-old onetime billionaire, was arrested on sexual assault and rape charges on Friday for allegations spanning over four decades, according to Canadian authorities (Stronach denies the charges).
Stronach, who was born in Austria, was charged on five counts, including rape, indecent assault, sexual assault and forcible confinement, following an investigation, according to police in Peel, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto.
Attorney Brian Greenspan, who represents Stronach, said he “categorically denies the allegations of impropriety” and “looks forward to the opportunity to fully respond to the charges,” according to a statement obtained by multiple outlets (Stronach did not immediately respond to Forbes’ request for comment).
Details of the accusations were not immediately clear, though Peel Regional Police Constable Tyler Bell said there are multiple accusers, adding officials “won’t confirm that number yet.”
According to police, the incidents of assault took place beginning in the 1980s and as recently as last year.
Stronach, the founder and former CEO of auto parts company Magna International, was released on unnamed conditions, and is set to appear in court in Ontario, Canada at a date to be determined.
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Stronach was raised under Nazi rule in Austria, and moved to Canada in the mid-1950s, founding auto parts manufacturer Magna International, the company he operated for over five decades. In 2013 at the age of 80, Stronach left the auto parts company and placed his entire asset portfolio in a group of trusts intended for his children. That same year, he moved back to Austria, where he took on a second career as a right-wing politician behind the party Team Stronach for Austria. His dabble into politics, however, was short lived. Stronach quit the party in two months, moving back to Canada. Five years later, Stronach sued his daughter Belinda Stronach in October 2018, seeking $500 million in damages, alleging she mismanaged the Stronach Group, the gambling and horse racing company owned by the family. Belinda denied the allegations, and the suit was settled in August 2020, with Frank Stronach splitting the company with Belinda Stronach.
We last estimated Stronach was worth roughly $1.5 billion in March 2018, but he has since fallen off the Forbes billionaires list.
