Courtesy of Bengladesh Bridge Authority Padma Bridge, at center of alleged bidding scandal, would be the largest bridge in southeast Asia when completed in 2014. Canada’s national police force is continuing its probe into alleged corrupt bidding practices by employees of SNC- Lavalin, Montreal, in connection with the $2.9-billion Padma Bridge project in Bangladesh.Acting on a referral by the World Bank, which is believed to be providing $1.2 billion of the project funding, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) executed search warrants at the company's offices in September. A police spokesman confirms the investigation but won't disclose why it was
Joint-venture contractors on the 12.3-mile Hiawatha light-rail line in Minneapolis-St. Paul have agreed to pay $4.6 million to settle federal charges that they fraudulently reported use of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) on the $715-million project, completed in 2004. Parsons Transportation Group, part of the project's design JV, says it was mistakenly named as a pact participant in the Justice Dept.'s Aug. 24 announcement. The firm and other designers were not targets of the government subcontracting probe nor did they “review or approve” DBE activities, a spokeswoman says. Justice did not return calls for comment.Project JV contractor Minnesota Transit Constructors Inc.
A Fluor Corp. subsidiary will pay $4 million to settle allegations that workers filed false claims and received kickbacks related to the company’s contract at the Dept. of Energy’s Hanford nuclear site in Washington state, the Justice Dept. said. Related Links: Justice Dept. press release In announcing the settlement on June 17, the department said that from 2003 to 2008, three Fluor Hanford Inc. material coordinators “made hundreds of fraudulent purchases using government purchase cards, using their positions and exploiting weaknesses in Fluor’s internal control system to funnel DOE funds to themselves.”Fluor spokesman Keith Stephens says, “Fluor settled with the
Legal PHOTO BY TOM SAWYER FOR ENR BLACKOUT The site of a fatal 2007 fire, the Deutsche Bank was finally demolished in January. After the prosecution wrapped its case on June 1 after nearly two months of argument in the manslaughter trial of three New York City construction managers for a fatal Manhattan building fire in 2007, defense attorneys insisted a reasonable jury could not blame their clients.State Supreme Court Justice Rena K. Uviller conceded the defense raised “very important issues” in its June 2 motion to toss criminal charges against their clients—Jeffrey Melofchik, Mitchel Alvo and Salvatore DePaola and
Investigators in Harris County, Texas, are probing a possible conflict of interest regarding a prior consulting link between a top Port of Houston Authority official and Los Angeles-based design-builder AECOM Technology Corp., which does work for the agency. Photo: Courtesy Of Port Of Houston Authority The chairman of the agency that runs Houston’s port operations had outside consulting contract with design-build firm. After local media reports aired the connection, the authority’s commission requested the probe by the local district attorney’s office, and the agency will cooperate, a port spokeswoman confirmed. A spokeswoman for the district attorney would not confirm if
A continuing crackdown by New York City prosecutors on fraud in the city’s interior renovation market has netted its latest results�the May 5 indictments of six area subcontracting firms and their owners, in a contractor bid inflation scheme that overcharged clients by at least $30 million in the last decade. Related Links: New York CM Firm Indicted in Client Bilk Scheme The firms and executives were charged with second-degree grand larceny for colluding with Manhattan-based Lehr Construction Corp. in the fraud. That construction management firm and four of its leaders were indicted on May 4 on charges that included fraud,
A continuing crackdown by New York City prosecutors on fraud in the city’s interior renovation market has netted its latest results—the May 5 indictments of six area subcontracting firms and their owners, in a contractor bid inflation scheme that overcharged clients by at least $30 million in the last decade. The firms and executives were charged with second-degree grand larceny for colluding with Manhattan-based Lehr Construction Corp. in the fraud. That construction management firm and four of its leaders were indicted on May 4 on charges that included fraud, corruption, grand larceny and money laundering. “The defendants in this case
A New York City unit of contractor Skanska AB has agreed to pay $19.6 million to settle a federal probe into disadvantaged-business-enterprise subcontracting practices among city contractors. Under the March 31 settlement, Skanska USA Civil Northeast will not face civil claims or criminal charges. The investigation of other firms continues. The pact was announced concurrently with an indictment of the owners of Environmental Energy Associates (EEA), a Skanska DBE sub. Prosecutors say on one project, the Skanska unit “effectively self-performed the work … and helped create the appearance that EEA had done commercially useful work on the project.”A grand jury
A New York City unit of contractor Skanska AB has agreed to pay $19.6 million to settle a federal probe into disadvantaged-business-enterprise subcontracting practices among city contractors. Under the March 31 settlement, Skanska USA Civil Northeast will not face civil claims or criminal charges. The investigation of other firms continues. Prosecutors probed Manhattan transit project for alleged subcontracting fraud. The pact was announced concurrently with an indictment of the owners of Environmental Energy Associates (EEA), a Skanska DBE sub. Prosecutors say on one project, the Skanska unit “effectively self-performed the work … and helped create the appearance that EEA had