One week ago the Federal Crime Court of Switzerland accepted a guilty plea from a former SNC-Lavalin (SNC) senior executive, accused of fraud, corruption and money laundering. The accepted deal was put forward on the fourth of August and sentences Riadh Ben Aissa, SNC’s former head of construction to three years in jail (of which he has served 29 months) and ordered him to repay millions of dollars to the company. These charges are related to SNC’s business in Libya, where Ben Aissa bribed Saadi Gadhafi, son of Libya’s late dictator Moammar Gadhafi, and also pocketed tens of millions of dollars.
SNC, who was recognized by the Swiss Court as an “injured party” will be able to recover $16 million from Ben Aissa’s seized bank accounts. Ben Aissa is the first SNC executive to be convicted with bribery and corruption-related offenses stemming from activities in Libya, Bangladesh, Algeria and Montreal. The company has undergone a complete overhaul since the problems surfaced, replacing top executives and launching an ethics and compliance program to ensure it does business with integrity. SNC’s reputation has taken a big hit as a result of the major corruption case, spooking investors and reducing the company’s market value.
This conviction opens up the opportunity for Ben Aissa to be extradited to Canada where he is accused of an estimated $22.5 million worth of fraud involving the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), one of Canada’s largest infrastructure projects. The lucrative contract worth $1.3 billion was finalized in 2010 and under the scheme, high-ranking SNC executives allegedly paid off Arthur Porter and Yanai Elbaz, officials with the MUHC to obtain the contract.
There are a total of nine individuals facing charges related to the MUHC contract including SNC employees Pierre Duhaime, the previously mentioned Raidh Ben Aissa, and Stephane Roy. The others facing charges include Arthur Porter, Pamela Porter, Yanai Elbaz, Yohann Elbaz, Jeremy Morris, and St-Clair Martin Armitage.
Pierre Duhaime, ex-CEO of SNC was forced to resign in March of 2012 amid internal audits, and was arrested later that year on charges of fraud, conspiracy and issuing false documents.
Previously mentioned Raidh Ben Aissa, ex-vice president of SNC was forced to resign in February 2012 and was arrested 2 months later in Switzerland accused of bribery and corruption in dealings with Libya.
Stephane Roy, ex-vice president of SNC was charged in 2014 with foreign bribery, fraud, and defying a UN resolution.
Dr. Arthur Porter, former McGill hospital CEO, was arrested at the airport in Panama in May 2013. Porter remains in prison in Panama and is fighting extradition to Canada where there is a warrant for his arrest on charges of fraud, conspiracy, breach of trust, taking secret commissions and money laundering.
Pamela Porter is a radiation technologist and wife to Arthur Porter. She was living in the Bahamas raising their four children until she was arrested in Panama alongside her husband. She was extradited to Canada where she is being held pending trial in Montreal.
Yanai Elbaz, former director of redevelopment for the MUHC, worked closely with executive director Arthur Porter. He was arrested in February 2013 and charged with conspiracy to commit fraud.
Yohann Elbaz is a lawyer and brother of Yanai Elbaz. He was arrested in April of 2013 on charged including fraud and money laundering.
St-Clair Martin Armitage is a British consultant specializing in public-private partnerships wrote a report influencing the granting of the MUHC project. He was released on bail in June and awaits charges of conspiracy, fraud, and breach of trust.
Jeremy Morris is a Bahamian lawyer who was a principal in shell companies used to funnel payments from SNC to MUHC executives. He surrendered to police in Montreal in March 2013 and awaits trial on charges of fraud, conspiracy, and laundering proceeds of crime.
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