SNC-Lavalin has a lost a court bid to have the public prosecutor overturn its refusal to negotiate an agreement that would see the company avoid a criminal trial.

In a ruling today, the Federal Court of Canada tossed out the Montreal-based engineering company's plea for judicial review of the 2018 decision by the federal director of public prosecutions.

SNC-Lavalin faces legal trouble over allegations it paid millions of dollars in bribes to obtain government business in Libya — a case that has prompted a political storm for the Trudeau Liberals.