Shares of SNC-Lavalin Group (TSE:SNC) were trading 0.44 higher this afternoon as the case involving accusations of fraud and corruption filed by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), has been postponed for three months after the Crown said it had 1,000 new documents of evidence.
SNC-Lavalin's lawyer, François Fontaine, did not comment. In April, when the trial started, Fontaine reiterated that the company does not intend to plead guilty, nor did he say whether SNC-Lavalin was trying to negotiate with the Crown to avoid a trial.
SNC risks being banned from soliciting public contracts for 10 years, should it be found guilty of corruption over the company’s activities in Libya, as charged by the RCMP, in the period preceding the collapse of the Qadhafi regime in 2011.
According to the RCMP, the engineering firm paid $ 47.7 million for public office holders in Libya in order to influence them. In addition, its divisions Construction and International Private various local organizations have approximately $ 129.8 million.
Three other individuals - former top leaders Abdallah Sami Bebawi and Stephane Roy, as well as counsel for Mr. Bebawi - have already been charged by federal police as part of the investigation.
Founded in 1911, the company employs 45,000 people around the world - including 16,650 in Canada, specializing in the infrastructure, hydrocarbons and mining sectors.