MONTREAL -- SNC-Lavalin, which faced criminal charges more than two years ago, has put in place integrity practices that 'generally work well', according to a report by an independent monitor, but it also outlines gaps that need to be filled.
The review is part of a follow-up with the engineering and construction firm, which was subject to a three-year probationary period in the wake of a ruling by the Court of Quebec in December 2019.
The company was fined $280M and one of its divisions pleaded guilty to fraud for acts committed in Libya between 2001 and 2011. In exchange, there was a stay of proceedings with respect to other branches of SNC-Lavalin in connection with the charges laid by the RCMP in 2015.
Overall, the summary of the controller's report, posted online at the end of 2020, describes SNC-Lavalin's risk management system as being ``well structured.''
The document nevertheless highlights "situations of non-compliance'', even if they are few in number, surrounding "large payments'' made to third parties - suppliers or subcontractors for example. The Controller also noted that in terms of anti-corruption contractual clauses, some of these did not appear systematically in contracts.
A second follow-up review must be submitted by Dec. 18 as part of the process.
SNC-Lavalin is continuing to refocus its efforts on engineering services, which will be its new cornerstone, gradually withdrawing from fixed price contracts, for which companies generally absorb cost overruns.
-- this report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 20, 2021.
