Snc-lavalin ousts two executives with ties to Gadhafi son

Montreal-based engineering firm Snc-lavalin has announced it has dismissed two senior executives with ties to Saadi Gadhafi, the son of former Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi. Riadh Ben Aïssa, executive vicepresident, and Stéphane Roy, a vice-president in finance, are “no longer in the employ of the company,” the firm announced Thursday in a statement. “Questions regarding the conduct of Snc-lavalin employees have recently been the focus of public attention,” the firm said. “SNC-LAVAlin reiterates that all employees must comply with our code of ethics and business conduct.” It refused to comment any further. The dismissals come after reports surfaced the company had connections with Cynthia Vanier, a consultant now facing charges in Mexico for leading an alleged plot to smuggle members of Gadhafi’s family into that country last year. Chris Day, a spokesman for Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, said this case involves a private company’s internal decisions. “Our government expects Canadian companies to respect the rules when operating abroad,” Day said in an email message to the Star. Roy had hired Vanier in July 2011 to travel to Libya for a “fact finding” report for the firm, which has billions of dollars in construction projects in Libya, the CBC reported. On Nov. 11, 2011, Roy reportedly went to Mexico for a meeting with Vanier, who had since moved her base of operations to a winter home there. She was arrested the day before Roy arrived. Snc-lavalin has said the company has not been involved with Va- nier since the fact finding mission in July.

Prosecutors allege Vanier tried to sneak Gadhafi and his family into the country, renting an airplane to fly them to Mexico.

The attempt was foiled, they say, because the pilots refused to land secretly.

The ring then allegedly made arrangements for a second attempt, hiring pilots and a plane. But Mexican authorities were tipped off to the scheme and arrested the four suspects in November. This week, prosecutors charged the four with attempted immigrant trafficking, falsifying documents and organized crime.

Vanier has denied all charges and said she was on a business trip to Mexico.

During Ben Aïssa’s time with the company, he has worked extensively on numerous projects in Libya. Ben Aïssa and the firm also reportedly paid to fly a security specialist to Tripoli to assist Saadi Gadhafi during last year’s Libyan insurrection.