Disgraced ex-dean landed job at German university after fleeing Winnipeg

Before he was arrested in a posh Paris suburb, the disgraced dean of Manitoba’s only law school — who fled the country following a 2020 expense scandal — kept a low profile at a German university.

Jonathan Black-Branch, 64, was apprehended on April 21 in Neuilly-sur-Seine. He owes the University of Manitoba more than $700,000 and faces extradition to Canada to be prosecuted for fraud.

The former dean of the faculty of law at U of M appeared in the Versailles Court of Appeal Friday opposing his extradition. The court reserved its decision to Nov. 6.

Black-Branch evaded Canadian authorities for years while he taught finance and other subjects at the International University of Applied Sciences in Germany, the Free Press has learned.

“It’s possible to hide in plain sight,” said Robert Currie, a professor of transnational criminal law at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

Currie said suspects in fraud cases are known to be charming — so much so that anyone they meet, including employers, don’t always bother with a thorough background check.

“There’s a shocking lack of due diligence, sometimes, all over the world,” he said.

Black-Branch landed a position with the private post-secondary institute, which offers distance learning and in-person programs in multiple German cities, shortly after he fled Winnipeg.

Black-Branch began a four-year tenure at the U of M in 2016. Administration has long been tight-lipped about his abrupt departure, but a source told the Free Press he was fired in the summer of 2020 over his failure to justify his use of school funds.

A spokesperson for IU International, Christin Eitner, confirmed Black-Branch worked as a lecturer at the German school between 2021 and last year.

Alongside a photo, “Prof. Dr. Jonathan Black-Branch,” was listed as the module director in a 2022 course book for a program that included units on corporate budgeting and control.

A biography published by the school described him as an alumnus of Harvard, Brown and Yale universities. It does not mention his tenure at U of M’s Robson Hall.

It could be months — or years — before the man who disappeared six years ago sets foot on Canadian soil again. Canada’s extradition treaty with France requires all requests be sent “through diplomatic channels.”

“That’s why, mainly, it takes so much time — because it’s not one prosecutor that takes his phone and calls his (counterpart) in the other country and says, ‘Hi, by the way, give me this person,’” said Maria Ludwiczak Glassey, a professor of criminal law at the University of Geneva.

The academic, who spoke a combination of English and French during an interview, said it is not unusual for an extradition to take up to a year after an arrest.

She said authorities must consider whether a suspect is fit to be extradited based on their health and family concerns in the country where they are detained.

Canada’s Department of Justice declined to provide a list of historical extraditions between the countries.

“France will be very favourable to extradition to Canada,” said Stéphane Bonifassi, a multilingual litigator in Paris with expertise in international criminal law. “Canada is considered an ally, but also a country that protects the rule of law and fair trial rules are applied.”

At the same time, the lawyer said it’s unlikely this case is a top priority for his country.

What is likely, Bonifassi said, is the accused — who has repeatedly dodged questions about his expenses and refused to participate in U of M professional disciplinary hearings — will delay proceedings by any means possible.

Midway through the 2019-20 school year, Black-Branch became the subject of an internal financial audit.

His contract was cut short after administration concluded he had misused and mismanaged public funds, in addition to directing subordinates to engage in wrongdoing. He failed to cooperate with university officials.

The review found more than 200 inappropriate claims. Those receipts ranged from U.S. Ivy-League programs to upgrade his resumé to fees for a members-only club.

The Manitoba Court of King’s Bench issued a default judgment in May 2025 requiring Black-Branch to repay his former employer about $682,500, plus interest and the cost of hiring a private investigator, who was unable to locate him.

The Free Press found video footage of an October 2024 conference that showed Black-Branch participating as a speaker at the hybrid event at IU International’s Cologne campus.

He was also registered to speak at the following year’s International Scientific-Practical Conference based in New York.

When Black-Branch was arrested by French authorities, he was living in “one of the richest communes in France,” Bonifassi said.

“In these posh parts, people are very discreet. They don’t look at what’s happening. They don’t look at other peoples’ business. It’s not necessarily a bad place (to hide out).”

Located on the northwest cusp of Paris, just outside official city limits, Neuilly is home to about 63,000 residents.

Ottawa was advised on April 22 that, one day earlier, French authorities had arrested Black-Branch based on its request the Canadian citizen be returned to Manitoba to take part in criminal proceedings.

Versailles Court of Appeal records state a provisional arrest warrant for the ex-dean was signed April 1. An extradition request was made May 11.

Black-Branch was called to the bar in 1995 in England, which is where he lived, at least on a part-time basis, before and after moving to Canada. He was stripped of his licence to practise law in Canada in February 2024, and this year in the U.K.

A meeting agenda published by the Swiss municipality of Gachnang in December 2023 shows Black-Branch, then-described as a 62-year-old foreigner living in the village of Kefikon, was seeking naturalization.

Bonifassi said he wouldn’t be surprised if the reason Black-Branch applied to become a Swiss citizen was so he could avoid potential extradition to Canada.

Swiss authorities declined to disclose his status. The Free Press has confirmed he is not a French citizen.

France and Switzerland both refuse to send their own citizens to other countries to stand trial or serve a jail sentence.

Multiple Robson Hall employees said the ex-dean, who specialized in international nuclear law, regularly worked off-campus and in many cases, out of the country.

He founded the non-profit Foundation of International Society of Law and Nuclear Disarmament while employed at U of M.

Black-Branch facilitated an initial $75,000 donation to the Zurich-basedfoundation. The U of M audit interrupted two identical follow-up payments.

The non-profit has accumulated debt in Switzerland in connection to overdue 2023 taxes. A Swiss database of debt payment orders shows creditors are seeking upwards of $5 million from Black-Branch in unpaid tax, mortgage, health insurance and art gallery invoices.

Ottawa is unaware of any other countries seeking to extradite or prosecute Black-Branch, said Ian McLeod, a media relations adviser for the federal justice department.

A spokesperson from Global Affairs Canada said it is aware a Canadian citizen is detained in France.

“Consular officials stand ready to provide assistance,” Thida Ith said in a statement that indicated details could not be released “due to privacy considerations.”

Federal Justice Minister Sean Fraser was not made available for an interview. His press secretary, Joannie Fogue, cited the confidential nature of active extradition cases.

Black-Branch did not reply to an email sent to his personal account.

U of M leaders have long been accused of dragging their feet to recuperate stolen funds, including failing to intervene in the mid-2020 sale of the former dean’s Tuxedo residence.

The school issued a recent statement — not attributed to anyone — that acknowledged ongoing concerns about accountability and declared “not all facts” can be shared with the public because of privacy legislation.

“The university took the steps available to it based on the information known at the time and the legal advice it received,” it said.

In its July 2020 report, internal auditors noted Black-Branch did not respond to “questions about (his) financial transactions.”

The ex-dean remains wanted on a Canada-wide warrant on a charge of fraud over $5,000.

The Winnipeg Police Service has said further information will be provided if the extradition application is successful.

Currie said that, historically, Mounties send a uniformed officer overseas to facilitate a Canadian citizen’s surrender and escort the suspect back on a commercial or military flight.

While there are oddities in this case, such as Black-Branch’s decision to continue working in a semi-public-facing role while hiding out, the Halifax-based professor said irrational human behaviour is common in transnational crime.

“People who are wanted by the police are the same as the rest of us,” he said. “They’re not always consistent and they don’t always make wise decisions.”

maggie.macintosh@freepress.mb.ca