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tvanouvelles.ca
Yachts, hotel and condo paid to son Gaddafi
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SNC-Lavalin planned to offer a $ 35 million luxury Bombardier private jet to bribe a son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi shortly before the Arab Spring broke out, according to a former senior executive of the company.
SNC-Lavalin's grand boss at the time, Pierre Duhaime, even gave the go-ahead for the purchase of this bribe for Saadi Gaddafi, one of the dictator's sons, according to a former high-ranking official. company, Riadh Ben Aïssa.
The engineering and construction firm hoped to thank the son of the dictator for the construction contract for the Benghazi airport in north-eastern Libya, Ben Aïssa said in a testimony delivered during the meeting. preliminary investigation by former SNC-Lavalin controller Stéphane Roy.
"He [Saadi Gaddafi] wanted a Challenger, a Bombardier plane in Canada. […] It cost $ 35 million at the time, "he explained.
Bribery
The testimony of the former boss of the construction division of SNC-Lavalin gives an idea of how far the Canadian giant was prepared to go to corrupt the Libyan regime.
Stéphane Roy was accused in 2014 of taking part in the payment of bribes in Libya. However, he took advantage of a stay of proceedings for unreasonable delays in February (under the famous Jordan judgment), and the testimony of Ben Aïssa at the preliminary inquiry of Mr. Roy can now be unveiled.
Ben Aïssa has made his side of the prison in Switzerland in connection with bribes in Libya. He was also sentenced in Quebec for corruption at the McGill University Health Center (MUHC).
Criminal trial
"He [Saadi Gaddafi] told me about it directly. I reported directly to Pierre Duhaime, who was in agreement, and then we waited to see at that time what was the payment terms related to the plane to accommodate and to buy the plane, "candidly admits Ben Aïssa in his testimony.
The plane was never finally bought and the airport project, which was to accommodate 5 million passengers a year, was abandoned in 2011.
"Since there was the war [the Arab Spring in Libya] and things took the turn they had, it stopped there."
Neither SNC-Lavalin nor Bombardier wanted to comment on these allegations after being contacted by our Investigation Office.
In his testimony, Ben Aïssa repeatedly stressed that all major payments were approved at the highest level of the company, as much at the time of Jacques Lamarre (1996 to 2009) than Pierre Duhaime (2009 to 2012). According to Ben Aïssa, SNC-Lavalin was at that time an "extremely centralized company".
Ben Aïssa is one of the star witnesses of the federal prosecutors in the criminal trial for corruption which is announced against the multinational Montreal.
It is these accusations that have led to a political storm since early February in Ottawa. Former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould says she has been under pressure from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and her entourage to help SNC-Lavalin avoid the courts.
Two sumptuous yachts
Saadi Gaddafi was charged for a 45 meter yacht brand Palmer Johnson worth 25 million euros ($ 37.8 CAN), the Hokulani. According to the testimony of Riadh Ben Aïssa, it was an offshore control company that he controlled and which was bound by contract with SNC-Lavalin who made the payments.
According to Swiss documents cited by the Financial Post in 2015, this son of Muammar Gaddafi then ordered another yacht, even bigger, 63 meters, the costs of which should also be borne by SNC-Lavalin.
Travel all expenses paid in Montreal
In the winter of 2008, Saadi Kadhafi landed in Montreal. SNC-Lavalin rolls out the red carpet to welcome this VIP.
It's at the chic Sofitel, a five-star hotel located on Sherbrooke Street, that Saadi Kadhafi stays. The firm praises for the dictator's son the "executive suite" at $ 575 a night.
"It was our guest. We took care of all his expenses here in Canada, "said Riadh Ben Aïssa.
It was then decided to charge the costs to the Sarir project in Libya.
"The philosophy of the company is to make everything happen on projects," says Ben Aissa.
The cost of the trip was literally astronomical: $ 2 million for a few months of stay.
A furnished and decorated condo in Toronto
During her visit to Canada, Saadi Gaddafi decides to purchase a $ 1.6 million luxury condo in Toronto.
"Saadi wanted to furnish it so that it was fully functional. He wanted us to pay the apartment fees for furniture, "said Ben Aïssa.
Designer Harvey Wise has been hired for this purpose.
The cost of his services? A whopping $ 150,000.