A Quebec engineering firm poured thousands of dollars into federal Liberal and Conservative party coffers by getting employees to make donations then reimbursing them through fictitious expense claims, the Commissioner of Canada Elections revealed Friday.

In a compliance agreement reached four days before the federal election but only made public three weeks after it was reached, Dessau Inc admits that a former vice-president of a subsidiary, who has since died, solicited the political contributions between January 2005 and May 2008.

Although companies are not allowed under federal law to contribute to political parties, the investigation revealed Dessau employees poured an estimated $40,752 in ineligible contributions into the Liberal and Conservative parties. The Liberal Party of Canada received $11,237, various Liberal Party riding associations received a total of $13,665. The Conservative Party of Canada got $13,000 and various Conservative riding associations received $2,850.

Nadia Gervais, spokeswoman for the Commissioner of Elections office, refused to reveal the names of the individuals involved in funnelling money to the Liberals and the Conservatives. She also refused to reveal when the investigation started, saying only that it began a number of years after the 2005-2008 donations.

In the compliance agreement, Commissioner of Elections Yves Côté says all of the contributions have been returned to the Receiver General of Canada.

The individual behind the scheme “committed the alleged acts under the direction and/or instructions of a director” of Dessau, the agreement says. Those involved in the scheme to flow money into the Liberal and Conservative coffers are no longer with the company and it has taken steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again, it said.

While the compliance agreement calls for the company not to break the law and to publicize the compliance agreement, no charges are being laid in connection with the scheme.

It’s not the first time that the engineering firm has found itself on the wrong side of authorities. In 2013, Dessau and its sister construction company, Verreault Inc, were blacklisted under Quebec government legislation to restore corporate integrity, prohibiting them from bidding on public sector contracts for five years. They were removed from the blacklist later that year.

Dessau was also among the companies named during the Charbonneau Commission hearings into corruption in Quebec’s construction industry, which has largely focused on money flowing to provincial or municipal political parties and politicians.

In 2013 Rosaire Sauriol resigned as a senior vice-president at Dessau after testifying before the commission that he used false company invoices to channel $2 million to political parties. Later that year, his brother, Jean-Pierre Sauriol, resigned as chief executive officer and president of Dessau. A few days later, another vice-president, Patrice Laporte, was suspended after his name appeared on a charge sheet related to former Montreal Mayor Michael Applebaum.

Gervais defended the decision to only reveal the existence of the compliance agreement after the election, saying it normally takes a couple of weeks to translate agreements and make sure everything is in order.

Olivier Duchesneau, spokesman for the Liberal Party, said the party was not aware of what Dessau was doing, cooperated with the investigation and returned the money.

Cory Hann, spokesman for the Conservative Party, said the party was not aware of the funding scheme either.

“We expect people donating to our Party are doing so truthfully and lawfully, following all rules, regulations and laws as set out by Elections Canada and the Elections Act. When we found out that wasn’t the case, we acted immediately and repaid the ineligible contributions to the Receiver General.”

[email protected]