A man accused of being the primary financial supporter for a violent criminal enterprise led by former Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding will remain in custody as Ontario’s highest court upheld the decision to deny him bail.
Rolan Sokolovski, a 38-year-old jeweller and former professional poker player, sought a bail review in March, citing a recent arthritis diagnosis as new evidence and claiming errors in the judge’s initial bail denial.
Sokolovski was arrested in November last year as part of a U.S. investigation into a billion-dollar international drug trafficking ring allegedly orchestrated by Wedding. He is accused of laundering millions of dollars through his jewelry business and procuring luxury items for Wedding.
Despite Sokolovski’s lawyers proposing strict release conditions such as house arrest and electronic monitoring, the Appeal Court found no legal errors in the judge’s decision and rejected the arthritis diagnosis as new evidence, keeping Sokolovski detained pending an extradition hearing.
The Appeal Court judge concurred with the concerns raised by the application judge about Sokolovski’s failure to provide a clear picture of his finances, leading to a high risk of flight due to his unexplained lavish lifestyle.
The court also dismissed the argument that Sokolovski’s arthritis diagnosis would impact his flight risk, stating that there was no evidence of it being debilitating or requiring treatment that would prevent him from fleeing.
In a separate development, a Calgary man charged in the Wedding case, Allistair Chapman, also lost his bid to overturn his bail ruling this week. The Alberta judge denied Chapman bail in February, citing strong evidence against him and the potential impact on public confidence in the justice system if he were released.
As the extradition process unfolds in Canada, preparations are underway in the U.S. for Ryan Wedding’s trial. The former athlete, arrested in Mexico and extradited to the U.S., faces allegations of ordering multiple murders, including that of a witness in a 2024 narcotics case.