B.C.'s former solicitor-general says he had no idea he was under investigation -- but almost everyone who did business with John Les in two Chilliwack land developments say they've spoken with the police.

Business partners and current residents at developments on Bell Road and Rosebank Place in Chilliwack -- one completed while Les was still Chilliwack Mayor -- say they were contacted by the RCMP months ago.

"You know what, we've talked to the RCMP already last fall, and we want to make no comment," said Audrey Acker, who partnered with John Les when subdividing her and her husband's Bell Road property in 2000.

"I don't want to get involved, my husband is not a well man, and we don't want any stress. And this would be a stress for us," she told CTV News in a phone interview.

For his part, Les continues to deny any wrongdoing, and says the first he heard of any investigation was last Friday. That was when a special prosecutor revealed Les was one of several people who had been the subject of an investigation that had been going on for nine months.

On Tuesday, former fisheries minister John van Dongen was appointed to the post of solicitor-general to fill the void left by Les when he resigned.

Les was mayor in Chilliwack when in 1997, the Ackers applied to Chilliwack city council to rezone their land at 10542 Bell Road from agricultural to residential. The Ackers were denied at the time.

Les stepped down as mayor in 1999.

When the Ackers enlisted John Les' help in 2000, he wrote an application to city council, and the rezoning passed within two months.

Les took control of the property through a numbered company. He then sold several lots for $85,000 each.

But CTV News has uncovered another property involved in a similar transaction -- this time, while Les was mayor.

Wilmer and Karen Rasmussen had applied several times to have their property near Rosebank Place -- a quaint collection of homes just minutes from downtown Chilliwack -- removed from the Agricultural Land Reserve in order to build a retirement home.

In 1985 and in 1992, they were denied by the Agricultural Land Commission, on the grounds that land in the ALR must be preserved for agriculture.

Again, the Rasmussens' property and some of the other properties were acquired by Les through a different numbered company in 1997.

That year, Les had applied to the city to change the boundaries of the properties.

Because many of the properties were less than 2 acres, Les did not have to get approval from the Agricultural Land Commission. He only needed the approval of the city -- his city.

On March 31, 1998, Les had sold at least one of these properties for $227,000, and on June 30, 1999, he sold another of these properties for $180,000.

Those living on Rosebank Place have told CTV News they've already been interviewed by the RCMP.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Stephen Smart and Jim Beatty