New bribery charges send SNC-Lavalin back to court

The SNC-Lavalin legal saga was thrust back into the spotlight Thursday after the RCMP announced they’ve charged two former executives and the engineering company itself for allegedly paying bribes to obtain a Montreal bridge repair contract.

Ex-SNC-Lavalin vice-president Normand Morin and ex-SNC-Lavalin International vice-president Kamal Francis, along with SNC-Lavalin and its subsidiary, each face forgery, conspiracy and fraud charges.

The charges date back to events that took place between 1997 and 2004. Michel Fournier, former CEO of Federal Bridge Corp., admitted to receiving bribes from SNC-Lavalin worth $2.23 million related to a $128-million Jacques-Cartier Bridge repair project. Fournier was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison.

The Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions has agreed to send an invitation to negotiate a remedial agreement with SNC-Lavalin. The offer was not made to both executives.

An agreement will allow SNC-Lavalin to continue doing business with the governments of Quebec, Canada and abroad.

“It also reduces the negative consequences on employees, retirees, customers and shareholders of organizations,” a DPCP statement reads.

SNC-Lavalin was previously charged with bribery and fraud in relation to its past work in Libya, which was at the centre of the high-profile 2019 battle between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and thenattorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould.

In 2019, the company’s construction division pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud while other charges related to acts committed in Libya between 2001 and 2011 were set aside. This was accompanied by a $280-million fine.