Nigel Wright, former chief of staff for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, appears before a parliamentary committee in Ottawa, Nov. 2, 2010.Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Nigel Wright is expected to rejoin buyout firm Onex Corp. this month after a police investigation cleared him of wrongdoing in the Mike Duffy affair.
Onex founder and chief executive officer Gerry Schwartz confirmed the planned return of Mr. Wright in an interview.
Mr. Schwartz said that he is "hopeful" Mr. Wright will be returning soon, and that he will probably move to London to join the Onex office there.
Mr. Wright was "100 per cent exonerated by as thorough an investigation as humanly possible," Mr. Schwartz said, and now he "will pick up where he left off, doing what he does so well."
Before leaving Onex in 2011 to become Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, Mr. Wright was one of the most senior executives at Mr. Schwartz's company. Mr. Wright's job was to lead efforts to make major acquisitions and improve the performance of the companies that Onex bought.
Last year, he resigned from the chief of staff role amid revelations that he wrote a $90,000 cheque to Senator Mike Duffy to help Mr. Duffy repay expenses that were deemed improper. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigated the situation, but said in April that Mr. Wright would not face charges.
"He should feel good," Mr. Schwartz said. "We certainly feel good."