The Royal Canadian Mounted Police investigating officials of the engineering firm SNC Lavalin, according to media reports on possible corruption charges related to a $1.2 billion bridge project funded by the World Bank in Bangladesh.
A spokesperson for the Royal Canadian Mounted Police confirmed for Reuters that the police had executed several search warrants as part of the investigation.
The Canadian Press reported some of those warrants were for offices in Toronto. CP also reported that:
The search was conducted following a request from the World Bank, which is investigating allegations of corruption in the bidding processes for the Padma Bridge Project.
The agency signed a deal in April to lend $1.2 billion to Bangladesh to build the bridge over the Padma river but said the money won’t be doled out until the investigation is complete.
Shares of the Montreal-based company dropped 4.3% in Tuesday trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
In March 2005, SNC Lavalin joined with the Ontario provincial government and Hydro-Quebec for a proposal to develop the Lower Churchill.
While the Newfoundland and Labrador government rejected outright that proposal and all others it received, the province’s energy corporation subsequently awarded SNC Lavalin the engineering, procurement and construction management work for construction of the Muskrat Falls dam and the link from labrador to the island of Newfoundland.
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