The Company has fully cooperated with
authorities in their investigation
MONTREAL, Sept. 23, 2021 /CNW Telbec/ - SNC-Lavalin
Group Inc. (TSX: SNC) stated that SNC-Lavalin Inc. and SNC-Lavalin
international Inc. have been charged under the Criminal Code of
Canada with offences that would
have occurred from 1997 to 2004 including fraud against the
government and conspiracy to commit fraud against the
government in connection with the Jacques Cartier Bridge
Refurbishment project, a $128 million
contract of which SNC-Lavalin was a 50 percent consortium
partner.
The Company welcomes the opportunity offered by the DPCP to
negotiate a remediation agreement to resolve these charges. This is
first time a Canadian company has received an invitation to
negotiate such an agreement. SNC-Lavalin has always been and
remains willing to reach a reasonable and fair solution that
promotes accountability, while permitting the Company to continue
to do business and protect the livelihood of its over 30,000
employees, clients, investors and other stakeholders.
The Company, which is today recognized for its robust integrity
program and culture, takes seriously these charges relating to
alleged events that took place two decades ago. The investigation
of this matter has been disclosed in the Company's public filings
and was facilitated by its own self-reporting. The Company has
fully and voluntarily cooperated with the authorities.
''I want to emphasize that these charges stem from events that
took place nearly 20 years ago, involving former employees who left
the company years ago and who no longer have any involvement with
our organization," stated Ian L.
Edwards, President and CEO, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc. "We have
said repeatedly that the past behaviour of a select group of former
individual employees does not represent the values and ethical
standards of SNC-Lavalin today. We have made great strides over the
past decade. The SNC-Lavalin of today operates at the highest
ethical standards and embraces a world-class integrity program,
recognized by third parties, and culture established through a
commitment to a common set of values".
"We see this as a further step to put the past behind us and
allow the Company to focus on the future. Over the past 2 years, we
have made great progress to strengthen the Company for a long-term
sustainable future,'' added Mr. Edwards.
SNC-Lavalin is Committed to its World-Class Integrity
Program
SNC-Lavalin's Integrity Program aims to prevent, detect and
respond to the risk of wrongdoing. It aligns and complies with
the principles of international organizations such as Transparency
International, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, the United Nations Global Compact and the World Bank,
as well as the U.S. Department of Justice Resource Guide to the U.S
Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
An Integrity Program Recognized by Independent Third
Parties
- In 2021, the World Bank Group has granted an early lifting
of all sanctions previously imposed in 2013 for a period for a
period of 10 years. The decision, which followed a rigorous
assessment and monitoring process by World Bank authorities and the
independent monitor, confirmed that SNC-Lavalin met all the
settlement agreement's terms and conditions.
- The Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and
raising the standards of ethical business practices, also announced
in January 2021 that SNC-Lavalin had
earned the coveted Compliance Leader Verification for 2021-2022,
extending the earlier 2019-2020 verification.
The Company also continues to collaborate with an independent
monitor as part of the 2019 settlement of federal charges related
to activities that occurred 10 to 20 years ago. The independent
monitor is responsible for reporting on the Company's Integrity
Program until December 2022. A
summary of each report is published on SNC-Lavalin's website and
each recommendation is given special attention to optimize the
current Integrity Program.
About SNC-Lavalin
Founded in 1911,
SNC-Lavalin is a fully integrated professional services and project
management company with offices around the world. SNC-Lavalin
connects people, technology and data to help shape and deliver
world-leading concepts and projects, while offering comprehensive
innovative solutions across the asset lifecycle. Our expertise is
wide-ranging — consulting & advisory, intelligent networks
& cybersecurity, design & engineering, procurement, project
& construction management, operations & maintenance,
decommissioning and sustaining capital – and delivered to clients
in three strategic sectors: EDPM (engineering, design and project
management), Infrastructure and Nuclear, supported by Capital.
People. Drive. Results. News and information are available
at www.snclavalin.com or follow us on Twitter @SNCLavalin.
SOURCE SNC-Lavalin