Liberals questioning Ruby Dhalla campaign over $21K in donations

Liberal leadership candidate Ruby Dhalla is denying any wrongdoing as the party withholds $21,000 in contributions to her campaign.

The funds are being held as the party probes whether 12 of Dhalla's donors surpassed maximum contribution amounts.

"When multiple maximum donations are processed on the same credit card, the party reaches out to those donors directly to confirm that these donations were made on the credit card issued from a joint bank account held in the names of both co-donors," the Liberal Party said in a statement to CBC News.

Under Canadian election law, couples are allowed to make separate donations using the same credit card.

On Tuesday, Elections Canada published the donation data it received from the party over the course of its leadership race so far. 

It showed Dhalla trailing the field behind the four other contestants, with $144,880 amassed from 109 contributors.

However, Elections Canada also published a list of 12 donations under a tab called "Statement of Contributions returned to Contributors or Remitted to the Chief Electoral Officer." 

Of the 12 names on the list, three pairs share the same last name and postal code. All 12 have $1,750 associated with their names, the maximum amount permissible by law.

In an initial statement, Dhalla's campaign told CBC News it was "unable to collect the funds of $21,000," and that "some additional attestation paperwork is required from the contributors."

The campaign said the party had sent attestation forms to the donors and would be making a decision "upon receipt of the paperwork" whether to release the money to Dhalla's team or refund it to the contributors.

The campaign then said it had provided the Liberals "with all requested information including all necessary documents."

But in a later email responding to further questions from CBC News, the campaign provided multiple explanations for the held donations.

Dhalla spokesperson Jacy Lafontaine said that "six couples donated using the same credit card" and the party did not provide the required attestation forms at the time of donation.

"As a result, an attestation form was [later] sent to the six couples to confirm that each donation was made by an individual," she said.