Former Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi is looking a purported plot to entrap him into accepting illegal Russian money “disappointing,” after a report surfaced Monday that a number of folks had been concerned in a plan to taint his status and take away him from workplace.

Canadaland, the information website that reported on the alleged scheme, stated “Operation Peacock” was an attempt by a political fixer, backed by local business interests and arranged by political strategists.

“How disappointing to examine this alleged plot towards me. It seems that there are folks that appear to suppose that their money and their connections make them extra necessary or highly effective than on a regular basis residents,” Nenshi said in a statement to CBC News on Monday.

“As a neighborhood, we must always by no means stand for the type of assault on our democracy and on our society that’s alleged on this article.”

According to Canadaland, the plan involved a political operative who says he was hired by developers and conservatives in 2019. The operative says he was responsible for setting up a scenario that would put politicians in a compromising position and then record them accepting favours.

Nenshi took no money.

Political scientist Lori Williams says that if the story is true, it shows how some people couldn’t accept the outcome of Calgary elections.

Nenshi was first elected in 2010 and won two more times before not seeking re-election last year. 

“Present a greater different to voters within the subsequent election … that is normally the best way that democratic processes work,” said Williams, an associate professor at MRU. 

“In this case, they determined that since elections weren’t yielding the outcomes that they wished, that they’d strive to expose a suspicion they’d in regards to the corruption in mayor Nenshi and ended up exposing corruption in themselves.”

The former mayor called for all levels of government to denounce these alleged actions and asked law enforcement to investigate the alleged scheme.

“I’ve religion that the suitable authorities, together with the Calgary Police Service and the RCMP, will examine this story deeply, and if any legal guidelines have been damaged, applicable motion might be taken,” Nenshi said.