Former U of Manitoba law dean arrested in France, faces extradition to Canada: police
Jonathan Black-Branch left his position as the dean of the U of M's faculty of law suddenly in 2020 with no official explanation given. The Law Society of Manitoba disbarred him in 2024. (University of Manitoba)Social SharingJonathan Black-Branch, the disbarred former dean at the University of Manitoba's law school, has been arrested in Europe and is facing extradition back to Canada, where he's wanted on a fraud charge.
Winnipeg police spokesperson Const. Stephen Spencer confirmed Wednesday the arrest happened in France and the matter is currently before the French court system.
Police can't say more while the matter is before the courts, he said in an email, but "further information will be provided should the extradition application be successful" and Black-Branch is returned to Winnipeg.
He could not confirm when Black-Branch was arrested.
Black-Branch — who was under a Canada-wide arrest warrant issued March 30, 2026, on a charge of fraud over $5,000 — was hired as U of M's law dean in 2016, but left his post suddenly in 2020 with no formal explanation given.
Around the same time, an internal investigation by the university, based on a whistleblower complaint, found a senior university employee misspent university funds.
Former U of Manitoba law dean disbarred in U.K., still under Canada-wide arrest warrant
In 2023, a months-long law hearing by the Law Society of Manitoba found Black-Branch had committed professional misconduct and misspent more than $600,000.
He spent U of M endowment funds on expensive meals at the members-only Manitoba Club, personal education at Ivy League schools, accommodation, travel and other expenses while he was dean of the U of M's law school, according to the society's decision.
The U of M then asked Winnipeg police to investigate for possible criminal charges.
The Manitoba law society disbarred Black-Branch in 2024, removed his name from its rolls of barristers and solicitors, and fined him $36,000.
The same year, the U of M sued Black-Branch. A default judgment in May 2025 ordered him to pay the university nearly $680,000 and more than $3,000 in costs, plus three per cent annual interest.
A brief filed by the school in December 2024 said it had been unable to serve Black-Branch with its statement of claim, "despite all reasonable efforts."
At the time the lawsuit was filed, Black-Branch's last known address was in England. However, a process server there was unable to find him at that address or another that he might have owned, court documents said.
The brief said at the time there was "some suspicion that the defendant may be residing in Switzerland," but his address was unknown. Attempts to contact him via email or phone were also unsuccessful, it said.
After Black-Branch left the U of M, the University of Southampton, in the U.K., announced him as the new head of its law school in August 2020. Days later, the university changed course and announced it would no longer be hiring him.
Earlier this year, Black-Branch was disbarred for a second time.
The Bar Standards Board for England and Wales barred him from practising law, citing his actions in Manitoba as "blatant and sustained dishonesty," according to the disciplinary decision by the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service.
Darren Bernhardt has been with CBC Manitoba since 2009 and specializes in offbeat and local history stories. He is the author of two bestselling books: The Lesser Known: A History of Oddities from the Heart of the Continent, and Prairie Oddities: Punkinhead, Peculiar Gravity and More Lesser Known Histories.
