Evil By Design

More than 80 women from around the world have accused the fast-fashion mogul Peter Nygard of rape, sexual assault and human trafficking in incidents across four decades and at least four countries. He denies it all, and claims his accusers are lying as part of a vast conspiracy. The Winnipegger had built a sprawling international retail empire over the past 50 years — but now, Nygard's professional achievements are being overshadowed by a sinister personal life, earning him the moniker, ‘Canada’s Jeffrey Epstein’. Host Timothy Sawa has been an investigative journalist at the CBC for more than two decades. For almost half that time, he’s been part of a team investigating Peter Nygard and defending his journalism in court. Now, he helms a new podcast that asks the key questions: Who are the women and men who have stepped forward? Which systems failed them? And how did Nygard get away with it for so long? For the best in true crime from CBC, ad-free, visit apple.co/cbctruecrime.

Episodes

Introducing: The Outlaw Ocean S2 and The shrimp factory whistleblower

July 9, 2025 • 42 mins

The Outlaw Ocean is an anthology podcast that plunges you into the vast and often lawless world of the open seas. Today we're featuring an investigation from S2 called The Shrimp Factory Whistleblower.

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ian Urbina joins Josh Farenello. What started off as a dream job, slowly revealed itself to be a nightmare. Josh moved to southern India to oversee a shrimp-processing plant...

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Episode 9: Nothing Sticks

March 10, 2022 • 40 mins

New criminal charges have been laid against Peter Nygard. New survivors have come forward. And much older allegations have surfaced. But for accusers in Nygard’s hometown — some who were among the most vulnerable in society — justice seems as far away as ever.

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Episode 8: The Enablers

March 7, 2021 • 54 mins

Nygard now sits in a Manitoba jail cell, awaiting extradition and a possible criminal trial. But what of the many others who have been accused of helping him along the way? For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/evil-by-design-transcripts-listen-1.5886427

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Episode 7: Flesh and Blood

March 1, 2021 • 52 mins

Once thought to be the heir to the international clothing empire, he is now a fierce defender of his father’s accusers. Meet Peter Nygard’s son, Kai. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/evil-by-design-transcripts-listen-1.5886427

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Episode 6: 'Peter Says Hi'

February 21, 2021 • 41 mins

Surveillance, threats, and criminal prosecutions. Host Timothy Sawa saw, up close, the extreme lengths that Peter Nygard and his associates were willing to go to, in order to stop the CBC’s reporting. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/evil-by-design-transcripts-listen-1.5886427

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Episode 5: ‘It’s always been known in Winnipeg’

February 15, 2021 • 41 mins

Journalists have been trying to report on the allegations against Peter Nygard for decades now. How has so much been kept so quiet for so long? For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/evil-by-design-transcripts-listen-1.5886427

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Episode 4: ‘A Thursday Night in November’

February 7, 2021 • 48 mins

It didn’t just happen at Nygard Cay; it wasn’t just in the Bahamas. There are sexual assault allegations against Nygard that date back more than 40 years ago, in his hometown of Winnipeg. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/evil-by-design-transcripts-listen-1.5886427

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Episode 3: Richette

January 31, 2021 • 50 mins

If girls and women had been abused at Nygard Cay, Richette Ross would be key in exposing those secrets. The former employee tells us what she witnessed; why she worked for Nygard for as long as she did; and how someone can be an accomplice, whistleblower, and a victim. For transcripts of this series, please visit: https://www.cbc.ca/radio/uncover/evil-by-design-transcripts-listen-1.5886427

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Episode 2: Carte Blanche

January 26, 2021 • 37 mins

Who is Peter Nygard? The son of Finnish immigrants to Canada, he rose to become boss of an eponymous fashion label that once boasted hundreds of stores around the world. Nygard’s success gave him the means to move to the Bahamas and build a fantastical resort estate, which he also named after himself. But it was Nygard’s limitless ambitions for this property that would eventually see him forced out of the country… setting the st...

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Episode 1: The Jane Does

January 24, 2021 • 46 mins

The world would not be talking about ‘Peter Nygard, the predator’ if it weren’t for a group of ten mostly Bahamian girls and young women who accused the fashion mogul of raping them. Two original ‘Jane Does’ tell their stories. They say, in their early teens, they were lured with false promises to Nygard’s palatial estate in the Bahamas, and attacked. We also learn about the so-called “pamper parties”: events thrown by Nygard ma...

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Trailer: Evil By Design

January 11, 2021 • 3 mins

Canadian fashion retail mogul Peter Nygard was arrested on Dec. 14 in Winnipeg, and is in custody facing extradition to the United States. He has been indicted for crimes related to sex trafficking and racketeering, following an extensive FBI investigation. CBC journalist Timothy Sawa has been investigating Nygard for almost a decade. Now, he hosts ‘Evil by Design’, an eight-part series that asks the key questions: who are the wom...

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