SNC-Lavalin cuts ties with executives close to Ghadafi family

Two senior executives of SNC-Lavalin Group who maintained ties to Saadi Gadhafi, the son of deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, have been let go by the company. In a short statement, the Montreal-based engineering firm said it is no longer employing executive vice-president Riadh Ben Aissa and accountant Stephane Roy. The company’s statement did not mention any specific reasons for their dismissal, only that  “questions regarding the conduct of SNC-Lavalin employees have recently been the focus of public attention. SNC-Lavalin reiterates that all employees must comply with our code of ethics and business conduct.”

SNC-Lavalin had been the subject of criticism over the company’s close ties to the Ghadafi regime after doing business worth hundreds of millions of dollars in Libya. A National Post investigation in the fall revealed Ben Aissa’s involvement in a fact-finding mission financed by SNC-Lavallin that accused NATO of war crimes. The company initially denied any involvement with the trip, which included a Gadhafi clan bodyguard, but later confirmed it had hired Cynthia Vanier to report on the security situation last summer. Last week, SNC-Lavalin also confirmed that Roy had travelled to Mexico City in November on business to discuss water treatment projects there, and was present when Mexican authorities arrested Vanier for her alleged role in a plot to to smuggle members of the Gaddafi family into Mexico.