Cynthia Vanier: linking up the emails in the Mexican evidence and the RCMP search warrant of SNC-Lavalin’s offices

The emails put Vanier at the centre of the alleged conspiracy

On Friday, January 11 of this year an RCMP search warrant was unsealed. The warrant had been used to gain access to the offices of the Canadian engineering giant SNC-Lavalin back in April, 2012. The big news upon its release was the $160 million in kickbacks that SNC-Lavalin was alleged to have paid Saadi Gaddafi, the third son of the late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

But also in the partly redacted affidavit were alleged emails between SNC-Lavalin executive Stephane Roy and Cynthia Vanier, the Canadian mediator who spent 18 months in prison in Mexico facing charges that she conspired to smuggle the younger Gaddafi to Mexico.

La politica has been in possession of both the RCMP search warrant and an early version of the Autodetermino Constitucional (essentially a living summary of the Mexican evidence against Ms. Vanier). Some months ago we did an analysis of the email timelines, but refrained from reporting as we were concerned it could be presented as evidence in Mexico.

This might seem like an odd preoccupation for a blog, and could result in La politica being accused of being on Ms. Vanier’s “side”. Well, we always have been a defender of her right to a fair trial, and we have also been acutely aware of the weaknesses of the Mexican judicial system. For example: Mexican prosecutors will use newspaper reports as “evidence”; they will enter testimony, such as that offered by Vanier’s former bodyguard Gary Peters, without allowing for cross-examination; and, despite a clear understanding that all statements must be verified, the prosecutors will throw anonymous emails and unsupported statements into a file willy-nilly.

However, La politica is now in a position to reveal our analysis of the two email sources: the first from “Anonymous” courtesy of the Autodetermino Constitucional; and  the second  from the RCMP search warrant.

What we see are two intersecting spheres of influence, with Cynthia Vanier in the middle.

In the left sphere are the people associated with the aircraft lease and the alleged Mexican conspiracy: Gabby de Cueto, her best friend Berta, Berta’s husband Christian Esquino (who owned the Mexican aircraft), and de Cueto’s San Diego-based business partner Greg Gillispie, who not only brokered the aircraft lease but at the time also ran a security company. All of these emails are in the Autodetermino Constitucional, and came from the “Anonymous” source.

On the right sphere we have Stephane Roy, the SNC-Lavalin executive who gave Vanier the contract for the July, 2011 “fact-finding” mission to Libya. The emails from Roy come from the RCMP affidavit, and were provided by SNC-Lavalin’s lawyers.

In a central overlapping sphere of this Venn Diagram we have Cynthia Vanier, the common link between the two.

Below is a timeline of the emails from the Autodetermino Constitucional sources and the RCMP affidavit. Note how they flow. In particular, see the 26 August email from Vanier to de Cueto at 5:34 a.m., which is sourced from the Autodetermino Constitucional/Anonymous, and how it appears to inform the 26 August email from de Cueto to Vanier at 9:40 am (12:40 pm EST), which is sourced from the RCMP affidavit. The latter appears to be a clear response to the former.

23 August, 2011 12:44. Vanier sends an email to Roy requesting a copy of the signature page of the mediation agreement in case she should need to conceal her tracks.... "Also to cover my butt .... in the event we have to backtrack on this ... paper trail supports intent ... " (Source: RCMP affidavit – SNC-Lavalin lawyers on March 26, 2012).

23 August, 2011, 13:13. Roy sends Vanier copy of Gaddafi passport. (Source: RCMP affidavit – SNC-Lavalin lawyers on March 26, 2012).

25 August, 2011, 1:50. Gabby de Cueto sends Esquino’s wife Berta, who “covers” for much of his aircraft leasing business in Mexico and is Gabby’s best friend, a copy of Saadi’s passport and family names. (Source: Autodetermino Constitucional).

25 August, 2011. Gabby telephones Berta to say she has sent an email with passport and family info (Source: Autodetermino Constitucional).

26 August, 2011, 7:55. Greg Gillispie sends an email to his business partner, Mike Boffo, outlining a plan to put a family of four into the St. Regis hotel/condo complex in Mexico City for 90 days. He tells Boffo that he has insisted to Vanier that $2,000,000 be paid in advance (this is possibly the aircraft contract), and that “Gabby is preparing a proposal for services we provide to Cyndy, and has committed another $3,000,000.” Total profits would be $1.7 million, and “If all goes well, we also will get a fully furnished condo in the St. Regis when the family moves to a more permanent home in an isolated location free!” adding that “Basically this will be easy money for our men and ourselves.”  (Source: Autodetermino Constitucional).

26 August, 2011, 5:34. Vanier sends de Cueto an email asking if there is anything she can do to speed up changes in identity... “Is there anything you can send to show that changes in identity are pending ... this way a transfer can be sent when you provide the bank information... this amount comes from elsewhere and I'm stuck in the middle! It is very difficult to explain to people who do this type of rescue work because payments are required within the tight time and usually in advance ...” (Source: Autodetermino Constitucional/Anonymous).

26 August, 2011, 9:40. (If time stamp is San Diego PST, this would be 12:40 EST). de Cueto sends Vanier an email saying “I will send you one of the birth certificate later today. I cant send the passp cause they will be subject of the pictures. The pictures will take some work.” (sic) (Source: RCMP affidavit – SNC-Lavalin lawyers on March 26, 2012).

26 August, 2011, 12:56. Vanier sends an email to Roy which includes a forward of the previous email from de Cueto... “Please see the message below .. Just came in.. Moving mountains here ... Cant believe they agreed to send this... Can you get the funds to me asap .. Directly into the account ..” (Source: RCMP affidavit – SNC-Lavalin lawyers on March 26, 2012).

(TE Wilson is the author of Mezcalero, a Detective Sánchez novel.)

For a related story see:

April 21, 2013: SNC-Lavalin could now be on the hook for “moral damages” to Cynthia Vanier

Twitter: @TimothyEWilson

Email: lapoliticaeslapolitica [at] gmail [dot] com

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