Charges laid in Libyan bribery case

Two former SNC-Lavalin executives were charged Friday in connection to an alleged scheme to bribe officials within the regime of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi.

Sami Bebawi, a former vice-president at the Montreal-based engineering firm, stands accused of defrauding the Libyan state, corruption, money laundering and other similar charges. Though there is an outstanding arrest warrant for 68-year-old Bebawi, he’s believed to be living outside of Canada.

The Crown prosecutor claims Bebawi paid off government officials in return for public works contracts for SNC-Lavalin. However, he’s also been accused of taking some $26 million and a Florida condo as kickbacks in the apparent scheme.

Stéphane Roy, another former SNC-Lavalin executive, will appear in court on March 5 to face charges of having bribed Saadi Gadhafi — the son of the notorious dictator who was also in charge of public works in the Northern African country.

The RCMP believes SNCLavalin paid $160 million in kickbacks to Libyan officials in return for billions in construction contracts. Former executive Riadh Ben Aïssa was accused of orchestrating the bribery scheme and of attempting to extract Saadi Gadhafi from Libya as the country devolved into civil war. Ben Aïssa is in Swiss prison on charges related to the alleged scheme.