Construction industry

Former Laval mayor charged with two counts of gangsterism, 37 nabbed

Topics: 
Quebec, Corruption, Municipalities, Organized crime, Construction industry
Rating: 
0

CTV News – May 9, 2013

Laval’s “mayor-for-life” was once considered an untouchable force in Quebec politics. On Thursday afternoon, Gilles Vaillancourt sat in front of a judge in handcuffs, facing one of the most serious charges in Canadian law.

Vaillancourt had run Laval virtually unopposed since 1989, stepping down last November after a series of raids on his homes, office and bank accounts. The former mayor is now facing 12 counts, including two charges of gangsterism.

SNC-Lavalin unit barred from World Bank projects for 10 years

Topics: 
Construction industry, Corruption, Developing countries, World Bank
Rating: 
4

Lynn Moore – April 17, 2013

The World Bank Group has debarred SNC-Lavalin Group’s key subsidiary from bidding on World Bank projects for 10 years following the company’s misconduct in two projects, including a $1.2-billion bridge project in Bangladesh.

The decade-long debarment is the longest ever levied by the bank’s anticorruption unit and follows its investigation into allegations of a high-level corruption conspiracy involving SNC-Lavalin Inc. and officials in Bangladesh.

SNC-Lavalin senior execs accused of hiding commission fees

Topics: 
Quebec, White-collar crime, Construction industry
Rating: 
3

John Nicol, Brigitte Noël and Dave Seglins – March 14, 2013

Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin is facing a new scandal and a $1.24-million wrongful dismissal lawsuit alleging attempted coverups by executives involving millions of dollars in controversial payments to an agent it employed for a dam project in Angola.

This latest controversy over the payment of commissions to hired ‘agents’ in foreign countries involves SNC-Lavalin’s hydro power division and follows the surprising and seemingly benign resignation of executive vice-president Patrick Lamarre on Jan. 18, and the dismissal of three employees — John Brown, Jean-Pierre Mourez and their boss Joseph Salim, who filed the lawsuit earlier this week in Montreal.

Money trail leads from Montreal to Tunis to the Bahamas

Topics: 
Quebec, White-collar crime, Construction industry
Rating: 
3

Catherine Solyom – March 1, 2013

An affidavit in support of a search warrant for the MUHC headquarters made public Friday provides a paper trail for $22.5 million police allege the SNC-Lavalin engineering firm paid in kickbacks to former McGill University Health Centre director Arthur Porter and Yanaï Elbaz, the MUHC’s former planning director.

Within a month of being awarded the $1.3-billion contract to build the McGill superhospital, SNC-Lavalin executives allegedly wired $10 million to a Bahamas-based company called Sierra Asset Management.

Man arrested in superhospital fraud case

Topics: 
Quebec, Construction industry, Corruption
Rating: 
0

Allison Hanes – March 12, 2013

Jeremy Morris was arrested Monday night by Quebec’s anti-corruption squad in its investigation into alleged fraud in the contract to build the McGill University Health Centre superhospital, dubbed Project Lauréat.

Morris was apprehended at Trudeau airport after arriving from the Bahamas, the Unité permanente anti-corruption said in a statement.Morris is believed to be a principal with Bahamas-based Sierra Asset Management. He is to appear in court in Montreal Tuesday to be formally charged.

Arthur Porter says he is too ill to travel to face Quebec fraud allegations

Topics: 
Corruption, Quebec, Construction industry, CSIS & CSE
Rating: 
3

Jeff Todd And David McFadden – February 28, 2013

Arthur Porter, the former head of Canada’s spy watchdog, says he has late, stage-four cancer and is too ill to travel from the Bahamas to Canada to face investigators over allegations of fraud in one of the country’s priciest infrastructure projects.

Dr. Porter said if Canadian investigators want to question him they should fly to the Bahamas. “I don’t want them to think I would chicken out on anything,” he told The Associated Press during an interview in his home in an upscale, gated community. “So if they want to come here, absolutely no problem.”

Alleged Mafia link says cash was for community fundraisers

Topics: 
Quebec, Construction industry, Organized crime
Rating: 
0
Nicolo Milioto

Sidhartha Banerjee – February 18, 2013

The Quebec corruption inquiry has arrived at the doorstep of the Sicilian Mafia, with its latest witness described as the key link between the construction industry, politics and the underworld. But investigators have found themselves butting up against a door sealed firmly shut at Monday’s hearing.

Nicolo Milioto — the witness with the memorable moniker “Mr. Sidewalk” — proudly shared his rags-to-riches immigrant success story. He apologized for any mistakes he might make speaking French, explaining that he’d picked up the language on the street.

Former Canadian spy watchdog sought in corruption probe

Topics: 
Corruption, CSIS & CSE, Construction industry
Rating: 
3

Brian Daly – February 27th, 2013

Dr. Arthur Porter, former head of Canada's spy watchdog, is one of five men facing arrest for alleged kickbacks involving the McGill superhospital. Quebec's anti-corruption unit is also looking for Pierre Duhaime and Riadh Ben Aissa, both fired last year from Montreal engineering giant SNC-Lavalin.

SNC is building the $2.3-billion McGill University Health Centre (MUHC), a massive complex that Porter oversaw until his resignation early last year. Quebec's permanent anti-corruption squad says Porter and the other suspects face charges including fraud against the government, conspiracy and recycling proceeds of crime.

SNC-Lavalin hires outside exec to oversee business ethics

Topics: 
Corporate ethics, Construction industry
Rating: 
0

February 22, 2013

Troubled engineering giant SNC-Lavalin has hired a former Siemens executive to guide the company on ethics and matters of corporate governance. Andreas Pohlmann will begin his duties as chief compliance officer on March 1, SNC-Lavalin said Friday.

Former SNC CEO Pierre Duhaime and another former top executive, Riadh Ben Aissa, are facing fraud charges stemming from a contract involving the building of the multibillion-dollar McGill University Health Centre in Montreal.

Montreal whistleblower quit after 'sense of trust was broken' over rigged land sales

Topics: 
Quebec, Corruption, Construction industry, Government ethics
Rating: 
4
Joseph Farinacci

Les Perreaux – February 4, 2013

A whistleblower who ran real-estate deals for the city of Montreal lasted just 28 months before he quit his high-level job, testifying he finally gave up trying to stop the rigging of city land sales by his political masters.

Joseph Farinacci, who took a job as director of real estate transactions for the city in late 2004, testified Monday that he walked into a system where public tendering appeared to be a process meant to rubber-stamp preordained winners on bids for Montreal’s vacant public land.

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