Anne-Marie Péladeau

Who is Anne-Marie Péladeau?

Anne-Marie Péladeau is the daughter of Canadian businessman Pierre Péladeau, the founder of Quebecor, a diversified company with interests in printing and publishing and based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

In 1999, Anne-Marie sued brothers Pierre Karl and Erik over a $21 million inheritance she said had been denied her when their father died. Pierre Karl and Erik were running Quebecor, while Anne-Marie was largely estranged from them having suffered from substance abuse problems and living on an allowance of $100,000 per year. An out-of-court settlement was reached but her brothers then sued her lawyers, who then counter-sued. To date the case has not been settled.

In October 2005, she was videotaped by Quebecor-owned news crews in a violent scuffle with Montreal police officers that resulted in her arrest and triggered questions by many, including Mayor Gérald Tremblay, about police brutality and the use of unnecessary force during her arrest. She faces 21 charges including theft and assaulting police, but has been released on bail to a detoxification centre near Montreal.

On August 9, 2007, Peladeau was arrested again at her home in the Montreal borough of Rosemont for cocaine and heroin trafficking. On August 14, 2007, she pleaded guilty to three counts of drug-trafficking.