A subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. will pay $280 million in fines after pleading guilty to fraud..SNC-Lavalin Group Inc has settled charges of bribery in Libya between 2001 and 2011 in Montreal Wednesday morning..“The Court of Quebec has accepted a plea of guilty from SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc. (a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc) to a single charge of fraud. All charges against SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and its international marketing arm, SNC-Lavalin International Inc., have been withdrawn,” the company said in a press release..The case made headlines in February this year after former Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould made claims of “inappropriate pressure” on her office to accept a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) against SNC by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his office. .“I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in my role as attorney general of Canada in an inappropriate effort,” Wilson-Raybould testified on February 27..The issue resulted in an inquiry by the election commissioner’s office which found the prime minister had violated the Conflict of Interest Act. The commissioner’s findings were made public in August..The company is also subject to a three-year probation order in which they will make publicly available annual reports and executive summaries..“SNC-Lavalin group is already subject to monitoring by Public Services and Procurement Canada and the World Bank, and has put in place a robust ethics and compliance program that meets the highest international standards,” the company release said..“The company does not anticipate that the guilty plea by a construction subsidiary (which has not bid on any new contracts since it was charged in 2015) will affect the eligibility of SNC-Lavalin Group companies to bid on future projects.”.“While it is possible that the guilty plea by the subsidiary may present risks in the near-term, the company believes the risks will be manageable and does not anticipate that the plea will have any long-term material adverse impact on the company’s overall business,” the release concluded..SNC-Lavalin holds 100 per cent voting securities in 20 Canadian subsidiaries, 26 subsidiaries abroad, and five in the United States..On Sunday, former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Badwahi, 73, was found guilty of five charges including laundering proceeds of crime, corruption of foreign officials, and fraud related to his employment on behalf of the company in Libya. He will be sentenced on Thursday.
A subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. will pay $280 million in fines after pleading guilty to fraud..SNC-Lavalin Group Inc has settled charges of bribery in Libya between 2001 and 2011 in Montreal Wednesday morning..“The Court of Quebec has accepted a plea of guilty from SNC-Lavalin Construction Inc. (a subsidiary of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc) to a single charge of fraud. All charges against SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. and its international marketing arm, SNC-Lavalin International Inc., have been withdrawn,” the company said in a press release..The case made headlines in February this year after former Minister of Justice and Attorney General Jody Wilson-Raybould made claims of “inappropriate pressure” on her office to accept a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) against SNC by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his office. .“I experienced a consistent and sustained effort by many people within the government to seek to politically interfere in the exercise of prosecutorial discretion in my role as attorney general of Canada in an inappropriate effort,” Wilson-Raybould testified on February 27..The issue resulted in an inquiry by the election commissioner’s office which found the prime minister had violated the Conflict of Interest Act. The commissioner’s findings were made public in August..The company is also subject to a three-year probation order in which they will make publicly available annual reports and executive summaries..“SNC-Lavalin group is already subject to monitoring by Public Services and Procurement Canada and the World Bank, and has put in place a robust ethics and compliance program that meets the highest international standards,” the company release said..“The company does not anticipate that the guilty plea by a construction subsidiary (which has not bid on any new contracts since it was charged in 2015) will affect the eligibility of SNC-Lavalin Group companies to bid on future projects.”.“While it is possible that the guilty plea by the subsidiary may present risks in the near-term, the company believes the risks will be manageable and does not anticipate that the plea will have any long-term material adverse impact on the company’s overall business,” the release concluded..SNC-Lavalin holds 100 per cent voting securities in 20 Canadian subsidiaries, 26 subsidiaries abroad, and five in the United States..On Sunday, former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Badwahi, 73, was found guilty of five charges including laundering proceeds of crime, corruption of foreign officials, and fraud related to his employment on behalf of the company in Libya. He will be sentenced on Thursday.
