SNC-Lavalin announced this month that Réjean Goulet will be retiring from his position as general counsel after a 30-year career with the embattled engineering-and-construction company, effective in July. Jean-Éric Laferrière, currently senior vice president of legal affairs, will serve as interim general counsel while the company conducts a worldwide search to find Goulet's replacement.

Goulet will continue to assist the company beyond his retirement date on specific litigation matters, including the recently announced federal charges against it. As Compliance Week previously reported, Canadian authorities in February brought federal corruption and fraud charges against SNC-Lavalin Group and two of its subsidiaries—SNC-Lavalin International and SNC-Lavalin Construction,

The alleged criminal acts surfaced as part of the ongoing criminal investigation into the company’s business dealings in Libya that began three years ago. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canada’s national police force, allege that between 2001 and 2011, SNC-Lavalin and its subsidiaries gave US$38 million to Libyan government officials to use their positions to influence government decisions. The RCMP further allege during this same time period that SNC-Lavalin and its subsidiaries defrauded the Libyan government and other entities of “property, money, or valuable security or service” valued at US$103.7 million.

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