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RCMP charge SNC-Lavalin, former execs with fraud over alleged bribery

Last Updated Sep 23, 2021 at 8:44 am MDT

MONTREAL — The RCMP say they have charged two former SNC-Lavalin executives for allegedly paying bribes to obtain a contract, and have also laid charges against the Quebec engineering giant and its international business arm.

The Mounties have not revealed the nature of the contract, but did identify the two people arrested and charged as former SNC-Lavalin vice-president Normand Morin and Kamal Francis, a former vice-president at SNC-Lavalin International Inc.

They along with the firms that they previously represented have each been charged with forgery, conspiracy to commit forgery, fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, fraud against the government, and conspiracy to commit fraud against the government.

The two former executives have been released from custody and are due to appear in a Montreal court on Sept. 27 along with representatives from SNC-Lavalin and SNC-Lavalin International.

RCMP Inspector Denis Beaudoin in a statement said the charges are the result of a long and complex investigation that saw evidence gathered over a number of years.

SNC-Lavalin was previously charged with bribery 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 then-attorney general Jody Wilson-Raybould.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 23, 2021.

The Canadian Press