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The Kwantlen Student Association , which has been mired in litigation over the past few years, is headed back to court. Its current association is suing five of its former executives and senior staff, alleging they are responsible for nearly $1 million in financial irregularities, including fraud and theft. The move comes after the B.C. Supreme Court had previously been asked twice to intervene in affairs surrounding the election of association officials. In May 2005, the court declared that an election held a few months earlier was null and void, due to procedural irregularities, and appointed a number of people as new directors. In August 2006, the court stepped in again and ordered a new election after an election held earlier in the year resulted in complaints about new bylaws and the expulsion of certain members of the association. In a statement of claim filed in B.C. Supreme Court, the current association says the five defendants -- all members of a party calling itself the Reduce All Fees (RAF) Party -- made more than $140,000 in unsupported payments to party-affiliated executives and employees, and more than $820,000 in high-risk loans and unapproved loans. Association general manager Desmond Rodenbour said yesterday that an audit conducted for the association found that, for the years 2005 and 2006, the association lost nearly $350,000 a year. "For a student association that for most of its life has been comfortably in the black, that shows a great deal of mismanagement." By 2007, after the downfall of the RAF Party, the association had a surplus of more than $100,000 and was again offering a full range of services to students, Rodenbour said. The association is seeking damages but also wants to send a message, he said. "We have to stand up and take some action against the offending individuals, if for no other reason than to make sure it doesn't happen again and to make sure that there is a reckoning to their activities." Named as defendants are former directors Aaron Singh Takhar, Danish Butt, Jatinder Atwal and Jaivin Khatri. Former senior employee Yasser Ahmad is also named as a defendant. No statements of defence have been filed and the defendants could not be reached for comment.
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