A billionaire Canadian university benefactor has been named as a key figure in an international bribery case.
According to a CBC/The Toronto Star investigation, the Panama papers reveal Victor Dahdaleh was allegedly the middleman involved in the international bribery scandal that resulted in Alcoa, one of the world’s largest aluminum companies, to be fined a staggering amount of $384 million USD for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
Through Dahdaleh, Bahraini officials — including a senior member of Bahrain’s Royal Family — received tens of millions of dollars in exchange for supplier contracts.
Dahdaleh, a trustee on the board of the McGill University Trust since 1994, has contributed more than $5 million over the years. A day after the investigation was released, McGill appreciatively accepted another donation of $3.5 million from Dahdaleh.
Also, York University has named the Dahdaleh Institute for Global Health after him, following his donation of $20 million last year.
In addition, St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia awarded the magnate an honorary doctorate last December.
With files from the CBC and Toronto Star.
