Who is the Man Behind the $15M Donation to StFX?
ANTIGONISH — Over the weekend, St. Francis Xavier University received the largest-ever private donation in its history, thanks to the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation.
Through the foundation, Dr. Victor Dahdaleh and his wife Mona Dahdaleh gave the university $15 million. The university will use the money to help create the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Hall, which will house the Victor and Mona Dahdaleh Institute for Innovation in Health.
The Institute will look at ways to improve health promotion and mental health and wellness in rural communities, among other things. It will also be the headquarters of the National Collaborating Centre for the Determinants of Health at StFX.
The federal government also contributed, providing $8 million in 2017 for the Xaverian Commons project, of which the institute is a key component.
International bribery scandal
Victor Dahdaleh is a Canadian and British entrepreneur and the owner and chairman of Dadco.
Dadco is a privately owned investment, manufacturing, and trading group heavily involved in the global aluminium industry. The company owns an aliminium oxide refinery in Germany and has stakes in related companies across the world.
In 2013, Dahdaleh was at the centre of a high-profile bribery trial brought by Britain’s Serious Fraud Office.
The SFO alleged he paid about £40 million (that would have been more than $63 million CAD at the time) in bribes to former managers of Aluminium Bahrain and a member of Bahrain’s royal family. In return, the SFO alleged, Dahdaleh took a cut from contracts worth £2 billion (more than $3 billion CAD).
However, in 2013, The SFO’s case collapsed when several key witnesses backed out or changed their stories in the middle of the trial. One of those witnesses, Bruce Hall, had been convicted the year before for conspiracy after allegations he took millions in bribes from Dahdaleh.
Dahdaleh was not convicted in relation to the SFO investigation.
Several multi-million-dollar donations
Along with the $15 million gift to StFX, the Victor Dahdaleh Foundation has recently given massive donations to support several other institutions named for Dahdaleh.
In November, the Dahdalehs gave $30 million to McGill University to establish the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Institute of Genomic Medicine at McGill University.
It also gave $4 million in October to support upgrades to the Victor Phillip Dahdaleh Building on York University’s Keele Campus and provide operating funding for several programs.
Dahdaleh was given an honorary degree from StFX in 2015 and has a long history of supporting the university, including donating to support the Brian Mulroney Institute for Government.
“Tonight is a night for all Nova Scotians to celebrate,” Dennis Flood, the chair of the StFX Board of Governors, said during the weekend ceremony announcing Dahdaleh’s donation. “For over three decades, Dr. Dahdaleh’s philanthropic work has changed the lives of thousands of young people being educated at some of the most prestigious universities across Canada and the United Kingdom. It speaks volumes that he has chosen to include and support StFX and the residents of this great province in his philanthropy.”
Trevor Nichols is Huddle’s editor, based in Halifax. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].