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The shipbuilder contracted to deliver Toronto’s long-awaited, $92-million electric ferries is facing forgery charges and allegations of violating Russian sanctions in the Netherlands that the city only learned of this week, according to Dutch prosecutors and a city spokesperson.
The Netherlands Public Prosecution Service is prosecuting international shipbuilder Damen for bribery, forgery and money laundering, focusing on a time period between 2006 and January 2017, according to an April news release. Prosecutors allege high commission payments to agents created a risk of them bribing local officials.
The allegations have not been tested in court.
The April news release says the company was also investigated for violations of sanctions concerning goods and technology that could contribute to the military and technological strengthening of Russia “and/or the development of the defence and security sector,” according to a translation of the announcement in Dutch.
Damen spokesperson Robin Middel called that a “separate lawsuit” regarding the delivery of ship cranes to the Russian fishing industry in early 2022, in an email to CBC News.
“In retrospect, there has been discussion about whether this was permitted under the [European Union]-sanctions package at the time,” Middel said. The charges against Damen were first reported by the Toronto Star.
Forgery case could have consequences for future tenders, company says
The forgery case could have possible consequences for future tenders, Middel said, if Damen is irrevocably convicted at the conclusion of legal proceedings
“The City of Toronto has no reason at all to assume any implications for the ferry program in the coming years,” Middel said. The company has “invested significantly” in compliance since 2014 and has been meeting “the highest standards in this area for years,” Middel said.
Damen will have a pre-trial hearing in Zwolle, a city in northeastern Netherlands, on Nov. 24.
There are renewed calls for the city to work toward building a bridge to the Toronto Islands following a weekend of long lines at the ferry terminal. As CBC’s Britnei Bilhete reports, some Torontonias said wait times were up to an hour and a half.
The city wasn’t aware of the charges until Tuesday, a spokesperson said in a statement.
The city is expecting two electric ferries, at the cost of $92 million, to be delivered in 2026 and 2027, after being built at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.
Charges concern business in Africa, Asia and South America
The case brought against Damen by Dutch prosecutors concerns payments of high commissions to agents involved in ship sales in Africa, Asia and South America.
Paying those commissions creates a “substantial” risk of officials being bribed in the countries where business was being done, prosecutors allege.
“It is suspected that during several years, a vast quantity of false documents have been generated in order to conceal these high payments,” said a translation of the news release.
The city has “strict requirements” for vendors to disclose if they have “previous convictions,” a spokesperson said in an email.
Damen has not been criminally convicted and the company met all disclosure requirements for vendors when the contract was negotiated, Mayor Olivia Chow said Wednesday.
‘We need our ferries,’ mayor says
She said the contract with Damen was awarded in 2024. The mayor said the city takes the charges seriously and has a third-party inspector at the shipyard providing updates on the ferry project.
“If the situation changes or new information comes forward, the city will respond appropriately,” the mayor said at an unrelated TTC announcement.
“We need our ferries and they’re in the middle of building [them], so we’ll see,” the mayor said when asked if a city response could include an attempt to end the contract.
