A Quebec judge has ruled SNC-Lavalin will stand trial for criminal corruption charges.

The engineering and construction giant is accused of paying at least $47.7 million in bribes to Libyan officials to secure contracts from the Gadhafi regime between 2001 and 2011.

SNC-Lavalin's construction division and a subsidiary also face charges of fraud for allegedly swindling $130 million from several Libyan groups.

Judge Claude Leblond of the Quebec Court determined that evidence presented by the crown during the preliminary hearing was substantial enough to send the case to a trial.

There is a publication ban on the evidence presented, and the charges against SNC-Lavalin have not been proven in court.

Crown Prosecutor Richard Roy said the next step is for the accused to decide how to proceed.

"What we can say is that all three entities which were charged, which is SNC-Lavalin International, SNC-Lavalin Construction, and the Groupe SNC-Lavalin Incorporated, were committed to trial, and that the case will come back on June the 7th, in Superior court for the three entities to decide what type of trial they want, which is either a trial by jury in Superior court, or a trial in Court of Quebec before a judge alone," said Roy.

 

Company expected this ruling

SNC-Lavalin President Neil Bruce was not surprised by the ruling.

"Given the threshold to be met by the prosecution at the stage of the preliminary inquiry, this outcome was expected," said Bruce in a statement.

"These charges relate to alleged wrongdoings that took place seven to 20 years ago by certain former employees who left the company long ago. And we are pursuing those who committed the wrongdoings."

Since the charges were first laid in 2015 SNC-Lavalin has replaced its board of directors, several executives have been convicted of related crimes, and the company has changed its code of ethics enforcement.

This is the judgment that the federal government was trying to prevent because it will have huge implications for SNC-Lavalin. Arguments over how the case was being handled led to the resignation of Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould.

If, after a trial, SNC-Lavalin is convicted, the company will not be eligible to compete for federal contracts for ten years.

The alternative to a trial, which Wilson-Raybould refused, is a deferred prosecution agreement. If the Crown and SNC-Lavalin agreed to a deferred prosecution agreement, the company would pay a fine and still be eligible for federal contracts.

Since October, when SNC-Lavalin's attempts for a deferred prosecution agreement failed, shares in the company have lost $2.2 billion.

SNC-Lavalin has 30 days to appeal the ruling ordering a trial, and has already indicated it is likely to seek a judicial review of the decision.

CEO Neil Bruce has also said SNC-Lavalin could choose to separate its various divisions in order to keep functioning.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also expressed concern about job losses if SNC-Lavalin loses the case.

"We respect the independence of our judiciary and we're not going to comment on an ongoing court case, but as I've said many times, we're always going to fight for Canadian jobs in ways that uphold the rules," he said Wednesday in Ottawa.