Former SNC-Lavalin executive found guilty on Libya corruption charges

A former seniorSNC-Lavalinexecutive was found guilty Sunday of fraud and corruption charges related to the engineering company's close ties with the regime of Libyan dictatorMoammar Gadhafi.

After three days of deliberation, a Quebec Superior Courtjury delivered guilty verdicts on all five counts facingSamiBbawi, which includedfraud, corruption of foreign officials and laundering proceeds of crime.

Bbawi, 73, had served as the head of SNC-Lavalin's international construction division. He was portrayed by federal Crown prosecutors asa key figure in an elaborate scheme to bribe Libyan officials.

The Crown alleged that SNC-Lavalin transferred about $113 million to a shell companybeginning in the late 1990s and ending with the fall of theGadhafi regime in 2011.

According to the Crown's star witness,Riadh Ben Aissa, another former SNC-Lavalin executive, the money wasintended mainly forGadhafi's son,Saadi.

Ben Aissaadmitted to setting up the shell company in order to rewardSaadiGadhafifor helping SNC-Lavalinsecure lucrative construction projects.Between 2001 and 2011, SNC-Lavalin won contracts in Libya totalling at least $1.85 billion.

The payments toSaadi Gadhafi,Ben Aissasaid,includeda $25-million yacht and lavish trips to Canada.

Jurors were shown a photograph ofSaadi Gadhafiat SNC Lavalin's headquarters in Montreal, alongside the company's then president, Jacques Lamarre.

Sentencing arguments this week

Ben Aissa, who was arrested in 2012 and served two years in a Swiss jail before pleading guilty to bribing Libyan officials, saidhis activities in Libya had been approved by Bbawi, his superior.

The pairagreed to split whatever cash was left in the shell company's accounts after paying off the dictator's son,Ben Aissasaid in testimony last month.

The Crown allegedBbawipocketed around $26 million as part of the scheme.Bbawi's lawyers said that money was legitimate bonuses that had been authorized by Lamarre.

The trial also heard evidence, gathered in part through an RCMP sting operation, thatBbawiofferedBen Aissa$10 million while he was in the Swiss jail.

Ben Aissasaid the money was offered in exchange for testimony corroborating Bbawi's account given to Swiss authorities.

On Sunday, Crown prosecutor Anne-Marie Manoukianthanked the jurors for listening carefully to the testimonyand sifting through the 300 exhibits that were entered into evidence during the six-week trial.

"They took their job very seriously,"Manoukiansaid.

Bbawi, who has been out on bail since his arrest in 2014, was released pending his sentencing. Hearings will begin Thursday. Manoukianwouldn't say how long a sentence the Crown is seeking.

Lawyers forBbawidid not speak with reporters following the verdict.

What about the charges against SNC-Lavalin

The interactions between SNC representatives and SaadiGadhafiare also at the centre of federal charges against the company.

It's allegedSNC-Lavalin paid around $48 million in bribes to Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011, a violation of the Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act.

Federal prosecutors also claimSNC-Lavalin defrauded a number of Libyan institutions out of $130 million over the same period.

SNC-Lavalin lobbied federal government officials in the hopes of securing a deal, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, that would have allowed it to avoid a trial on these charges, in exchange for paying a fine.

Those efforts have so far proved unsuccessful, but resulted in controversy for the federal Liberals.

An Ethics Commissioner's report concludedthat Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated ethics laws as he triedto convince his then-justice minister Jody Wilson-Raybouldto reverse her decision to not grant the agreement.

Wilson-Raybouldeventually quit cabinet and was kicked out of the partyover the matter. She was re-elected as independent in the last election.

Manoukian who was accompanied Sunday byRichard Roy,lead prosecutor in the SNC-Lavalin caserefused to comment on possible implications of theBbawiverdict.

"The message generally is that Canada takes seriously its obligations toward all offences committed and we will prosecute them as the cases come to be,"Manoukiansaid.

SNC-Lavalinissued a briefstatement on Sunday, saying it is "focused on its business and delivering results, and will not comment on past or pending court proceedings."