No investigation of political interference allegations in SNC-Lavalin affair: RCMP

The RCMP says it is not investigating allegations of political interference in the federal handling of criminal charges against engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

The RCMP says it is not investigating allegations of political interference in the federal handling of criminal charges against engineering firm SNC-Lavalin.

In a statement today, the Mounties set the record straight after a recent response to a public interest group's Access to Information request suggested the Mounties were conducting such a probe.

In 2015, SNC-Lavalin Group and two of its affiliates, SNC-Lavalin Construction and SNC-Lavalin International, were charged with corruption of a foreign public official and fraud stemming from business dealings in Libya.

SNC-Lavalin had unsuccessfully pressed the director of prosecutions to negotiate a special settlement -- known as a remediation agreement -- out of concern the company could be barred from federal contracts for a decade if convicted of criminal charges.

In early 2019, the Globe and Mail newspaper reported that prime ministerial aides leaned on Jody Wilson-Raybould, who was the federal attorney general at the time, to ensure there was a deal that would avoid prosecution.

Wilson-Raybould resigned from cabinet days later and was subsequently ousted from the Liberal caucus.

The federal ethics watchdog concluded in August 2019 that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau violated the Conflict of Interest Act in the way he dealt with the issue.