 In 1917, as a British intelligence informant, he caused the arrest of Leon Trotsky in Nova Scotia by British naval authorities acting on instructions from Britain's Admiralty's Naval Intelligence Division.Palmer-Pilenas accused Trotsky of carrying $10,000 which he alleged had been provided by pro-German sources.But no such money was found on Trotsky, or his five companions at the time of his arrest and subsequent internment.