SNC-Lavalin CEO aims to ease worries

Montreal-based company’s stock plunged to its lowest since early 2016 due to court case

MONTREAL — The head of SNCLavalin Group Inc. tried to assuage concerns over criminal charges at home and diplomatic tensions with the government of Saudi Arabia, saying the challenges will not hurt its business.

“Despite the political issues we’ve had to contend with, our business is solid,” chief executive Neil Bruce told analysts during a conference call.

On Oct. 10, the Montreal-based company’s stock plunged to its lowest level since early 2016 after federal prosecutors announced they would not invite SNC to negotiate a remediation agreement over fraud and corruption charges that stemmed from alleged dealings with the Libyan regime under Moammar Gadhafi between 2001 and 2011 — “a completely distant era,” Bruce said.

“It’s when I did my MBA at Newcastle University, to put it in perspective.” While the perceived spurn “makes no sense ... it hasn’t had any impact whatsoever in our ability to bid and win work,” he said.

“However, it has generated a whole bunch of conversations where we need to go and talk to clients about stuff that, frankly, we’d rather not talk about.”

In February 2015, the RCMP charged SNC and two subsidiaries with paying nearly $48 million to Libyan public officials to influence government decisions. The RCMP also hit the company, its construction division and a subsidiary with one charge each of fraud and corruption for allegedly defrauding various Libyan organizations of about $130 million.

A conviction could bar SNC from working with the federal government for up to 10 years.

A preliminary inquiry kicked off Monday in Montreal. SNC’s recent appeal of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada’s decision to forgo an invitation to settlement negotiations is ongoing.

Bruce confirmed he was in Saudi Arabia last week but said he steered clear of the government’s Future Investment Initiative event in the wake of the alleged murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.