No proof of Padma Bridge graft conspiracy found

Desk Report: A court in Canada has acquitted three business executives of charges that SNC-Lavalin Group Inc staff planned to bribe Bangladesh officials in a bid to win a $50 million contract to supervise the Padma Bridge construction.

Justice Ian Nordheimer of the Ontario Superior Court has thrown out wiretap evidence that formed the basis of the prosecution's case, saying it was based on gossip and rumour.

Candian newspaper The Globe and Mail published the news Friday.

The three acquitted in the judgment are former SNC vice-president of energy and infrastructure Kevin Wallace, former SNC vice-president of international development Ramesh Shah and Bangladeshi-Canadian businessman Zulfiquar Ali Bhuiyan.

The World Bank alleged corruption in Padma Bridge project and began investigation in 2010.

It requested the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to take necessary actions based on the evidence they got during their own investigations and from 'four informants’, whom the court has now called 'tipsters'.

The RCMP originally charged five people with corruption in the case, but charges against two of the accused – Mohammad Ismail and Abul Hasan Chowdhury – were previously dropped.

Later, the World Bank withdrew the funds it had promised for the Padma Bridge project following the alleged corruption.

However, Bangladesh is now building the bridge with its own money. A Chinese firm has been tasked with the construction of the bridge.
 

risingbd/DHAKA/Feb 11, 2017/Saiful/Augustin Sujan