The following article was first published in the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday 6th November, 2019.
You can read the entire article on their website HERE.
Before seeking out the son of former dictator Moammar Gadhafi for help with a money-losing contract in Libya, SNC-Lavalin first turned to the Canadian government to try to solve the problem, a former executive says.
Riadh Ben Aissa made the claim while being cross-examined Wednesday during former executive vice-president Sami Bebawi’s fraud and corruption trial.
Former SNC-Lavalin executive Sami Bebawi, left, arrives with lawyers Annie Emond and Alexandre Bien-Aimé for the start of his trial on Oct. 31. PIERRE OBENDRAUF / MONTREAL GAZETTE
In the early 2000s, the firm was incurring losses on a project in Libya that aimed to install infrastructure to bring water to coastal cities.
When the company filed a claim to try to recoup its money, Ben Aissa was tasked with finding a way to settle the issue. He told jurors he thought of “every way” possible of settling the claim and had exhausted all avenues before eventually turning to Saadi Gadhafi.
Asked Wednesday if that included SNC-Lavalin reaching out to the Canadian government for help in settling the claim, Ben Aissa first said it was a possibility.
Then confronted with previous statements he gave the RCMP in 2016, Ben Aissa said the firm had “certainly” reached out to Ottawa through its vice-president in charge of government relations.
“When the company goes into a country, specifically Libya, and we have issues,” Ben Aissa had told the RCMP, “the first thing the company tried to do, you know, is it tried to get some help from the Canadian government.
“And in that case in Libya, they had tried through external affairs.”
Ben Aissa was in his fifth day of testimony during Bebawi’s trial. Bebawi, 73, faces charges of fraud, bribing a foreign public official and possession of property obtained by crime, including two amounts of roughly $15 million and $12 million.
The trial has so far focused on the firm’s attempt to forge a relationship with Saadi Gadhafi.
The Crown alleges that relationship led to a scheme that involved paying millions in kickbacks and bribes, including to Gadhafi, to ensure it kept receiving lucrative contracts.
During his time on the stand, Ben Aissa has repeatedly said it was Bebawi that pressured him to settle the claim by any means necessary.
But defence lawyer Alexandre Bien-Aimé questioned several of Ben Aissa’s claims during his cross-examination.
Bien-Aimé argued a key meeting Ben Aissa described having with Bebawi in Cairo — during which he would have first pressured him to do whatever it takes to settle the claim — never actually happened.
He also questioned Ben Aissa’s explanation of how he first came into contact with Gadhafi and to what extent Bebawi was involved with the firm’s dealings in Libya.
The trial does not sit on Thursday. Ben Aissa’s cross-examination continues Friday.
