by Ian Elliot
Northern News Services

INUVIK (May 01/98) - Three former Inuvialuit Regional Corporation executives charged with tax evasion will be back in court in July.

Roger Gruben, former chairman of the corporation that oversees the Inuvialuit's land claim, former vice-president of finance Preston J. Maddin and Knute Hansen, a former director of the corporation, had a brief court appearance on Monday in Inuvik, to answer to eight charges Revenue Canada filed against the three men in March.

Only Hansen appeared in person. The other two, acting through lawyers, had the charges put over until July 6, where they will enter pleas if a settlement is not reached before then.

Judge Brian Bruser consented to the lengthy delay, but made it clear that pleas of guilty or not guilty must be entered when the three next appear.

The charges relate to income they received from a controversial and now defunct bonus plan, in which IRC officials rewarded themselves with cash bonuses for job performance. Revenue Canada says the income received through that plan, which has been scrapped, was never reported to it and taxes were not paid on it.

Gruben, 45, of Tuktoyaktuk, is charged with evading taxes of $71,000 by failing to report income of $299,000 in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Gruben is also charged with underreporting his income by $24,000 in 1993 and understating his income by $158,000 in 1994.

Maddin, 40, who now lives in Calgary, faces four charges. Revenue Canada says he evaded taxes of $69,000 by failing to report income of $221,000 in 1993, 1994 and 1995 and understating his income by $56,000 in 1993 as well as understating his income by $110,000 in 1994 and understated his income by $55,000 in 1995.

Hansen, 46, faces a single charge of evading taxes of $46,000 by failing to report income of $298,000 in 1994.