$BILLIONS AT STAKE FOR SNC LAVALIN

The Montreal-based company faces charges under the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA) that it funnelled $48 million in payments to Libyan government officials, including former dictator Moammar Gadhafi’s son, Saadi, to secure government contracts. The case has been in preliminary hearings since October, and no trial date is currently scheduled.
  Chris Burkett, a former Crown prosecutor, speaking generally about the law, said a conviction under federal bribery laws would effectively lead to a 10-year ban from bidding on federal contracts. The federal government could also terminate any existing contracts, and provincial governments and foreign government could follow suit, Burkett said.
   Two other companies have been charged under the CFPOA in the past decade, and both paid $10-million penalties. By contrast, in the U.S., corporate defendants charged under anti-bribery laws have paid penalties that stretch into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

“Some people view deferred prosecution agreements as a way for government lawyers to pressure companies into settlements,” said Burkett. “But on the flip side, other people say corporations view it as a ‘get out of jail free card.’ ”