In 1967 he founded Nygård International, a Winnipeg-based company that initially was a sportswear manufacturer before producing women's apparel.

[4] In 2020, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) carried out a search warrant of Nygård's offices in New York City after he was accused of sex trafficking, sexual assault and racketeering.

[17] Times Square was also the location of Nygård's fashion concept retail store, which opened on Friday, 6 November 2009.

[24] On 13 February 2020, 10 women filed a class-action lawsuit against Nygård in New York, alleging that he had sexually assaulted them at his Bahamas residence.

[5][28] On 20 April 2020, 36 new women joined the class-action suit, bringing the total number of plaintiffs in the sexual assault case to 46.

[33][34] On 22 August 2020, it was reported that the class-action suit had been placed on hold due to the US government having requested a stay of proceedings while the criminal investigation was ongoing.

[35] On 15 December 2020, Nygård was arrested in Winnipeg for extradition to the US to face charges of sex trafficking by the US attorney's office in Manhattan.

[42] On 2 December 2021, it was reported that Nygård would not face charges by Winnipeg police following a ten-month investigation into allegations of sexual assault from eight women against him.

[20] In November 2023, Nygård was found guilty of sexual assault by a Canadian jury in Toronto, following a six-week trial.

Nygård denied the charges, with his defense team suggesting the victims were seeking financial gain.

[44] Nygård's son Kai Zen Bickle praised the conviction saying that his father "used his business talents for evil, to prey on others," adding "And it's a very good thing that justice was served here.

[62] From 2007 onwards, the dispute escalated to include 16 legal actions between Nygård and Louis Bacon and their associates.

[66][67] A letter from the Bahamian prime minister's office rejected Nygård construction application, citing the improper expansion of his property through intentional accretion of land over the seabed.

[68] In 2019, a warrant was issued after Nygård failed to appear in court multiple times for a sentencing hearing related to two contempt-of-court convictions in the Bahamas.

[69] In 2003, Nygård was sued in Florida by an American couple who claimed he deceived them into accepting jobs as managers of his Bahamas estate.

The interior contained a karaoke machine, fluorescent purple disco lighting and a stripper's pole, with nightclub-style chrome paneling, mirrored ceilings, white leather seats and a plush day bed.

Nygård had purchased a new plane as a replacement but never finished renovating it due to mounting legal and financial troubles.

It was later adopted into a documentary series, Evil by Design: Surviving Nygård, that aired on CBC Television in 2022.

[79] In 2002, Deloraine, Manitoba, where Nygård grew up, unveiled a commemorative plaque and named a park in his honour.