LibyaPolitics

Canada’s justice minister resigns after ‘pressure’ not to investigate Québécois company’s corruption in Libya

Canada’s Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould resigned on Tuesday amid allegations Justin Trudeau’s office had pressured her to avoid prosecuting construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc over corruption in Libya.

“Her departure from cabinet follows a Globe and Mail report last Thursday citing unnamed sources who said the prime minister’s office pushed Wilson-Raybould to direct federal prosecutors to negotiate a deal with SNC-Lavalin, known as a deferred prosecution agreement, that would have led to a fine instead of a criminal trial, but she refused,” according to National Post, a Canadian English-language newspaper.

The Québécois company was charged in 2015 with offering bribes worth nearly $48 million to Libyan officials between 2001 and 2011 in exchange for influencing government decisions under the Muammar Gaddafi regime to sign construction contracts.

The Montreal-based company also defrauded various Libyan organizations of about $130 million.

Wilson-Raybould said in a letter to Trudeau she was leaving “with a heavy heart,” but gave no reasons.

Commenting on her resignation, the Canadian prime minister said Wilson-Raybould had not raised any concerns with him about how the case of SNC-Lavalin Group Inc was being handled.

“Frankly, I am both surprised and disappointed by her decision to step down,” Trudeau told reporters in Winnipeg, a Canadian city, insisting that the Liberal government had done nothing improper.

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