ade for the 19th century Austrian empress Sisi also revealed he was funding Kurdish rebels in Iraq. Gerald Blanchard, 35, pleaded guilty to 16 charges for his involvement in fraud and bank heists.
As well, the court heard that he had funneled money from stolen credit cards to Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq.
According to prosecutors, Blanchard and two other Canadians had traveled to Cairo, Egypt, to use fraudulently obtained credit cards and debit information to get cash they then sent to a man in England identified only as "the Boss."
In a wiretap transcript, Blanchard is overhead saying the Boss planned to use that money to finance activities of Kurdish fighters and possibly other terrorist groups.
"His lawyer said the money went to the Kurdish freedom fighters in Iraq -- that was his exact words. We knew the money was used to fund terrorism," government attorney Sheilla Leinburd told AFP.
"It was a large-scale operation. It was going on in Spain and other European countries at the same time. This was not the only cell that was operating," she said.
Blanchard was sentenced to eight years in prison for running a criminal organization, said Leinburd.
British authorities know the identity of the Boss, but have not revealed him to their Canadian counterparts, Leinburd added.
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