Gerald Butts resigned on Monday as Secretary-General of Prime Minister Justin Trudo, amid claims that former Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Reybula was subjected to pressure by the cabinet to avoid prosecuting construction company SNC-Lavalin Group Inc over corruption in Libya.
Although he resigned due to the allegations, Butts denied in a statement to reporters that he or anyone else in the prime minister office put this sort of pressure on Wilson-Raybould. He said the accusation is “simply not true.”
On 12 February, Wilson-Raybould resigned, but without giving reasons. Allegations have then spread that she had been pressured not to pursue corruption claims against the company.
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.
“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.
