The Political Economy of Corporate Bribery: SNC-Lavalin Group as a Case Study

• In Event: Corporate Crime

Abstract

In 2013, the World Bank suspended financing for the construction of the Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge in Bangladesh following allegations of massive payoffs from SNC-Lavalin Group (Canada) to several Bangladeshi officials and politicians. Around the same time, allegations were percolating of massive bribes to the Gadhafi family in Libya over a river project, among others. This resulted in the arrest of a major SNC-Lavalin employee in Switzerland, who pled guilty and is now co-operating with the RCMP in Canada.
This paper examines the intricacies of the corruption allegations against SNC-Lavalin Group in Canada. There are suggestions of a toxic corporate culture historically noted by Sutherland (1949). As well, a criminal action has been commenced against the corporation. Both the outcome of this prosecution and its theoretical implications raise important questions about on the role of structural pressures and “holes” in global capital markets. Here, we invoke Quinney's (2002) analysis of capital, Chambliss' (1994) notion of law and markets, and Merton’s (1957) theory of organizational strain.

Authors

• Matthew G. Yeager, King's University College (Western University)

• Randall Shelden, University of Nevada at Las Vegas

• Alyssa Holden, King's University College, Western University, Canada