(Reuters) - Construction and engineering company SNC Lavalin Group Inc (>> SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.), which has been at the center of an ethics and corruption scandal involving former executives, said Alain-Pierre Raynaud will take over as chief financial officer effective June 1.

Raynaud, who was the CFO of French nuclear reactor maker Areva (>> AREVA) until 2011 and the CEO of its UK unit after that, will replace Gilles Laramée, who was assigned to take over responsibilities of a new business unit last December.

Canada's SNC, one of the world's largest engineering companies, said in December it had launched a search for a new CFO.

The 102-year-old company said last year it uncovered tens of millions of dollars in mysterious payments.

Former chief executive Pierre Duhaime resigned last year amid the scandal and faced more fraud-related charges in February.

"We view this CFO appointment as positive given Raynaud's strong resume and global experience," Sara O'Brien of RBC Capital Markets said in a note to clients.

Raynaud has spent more than three decades in the energy, automotive and banking industries. He will be based at the company's head office in Montreal.

Laramée will now continue exclusively as executive vice president for infrastructure, concessions and investment, the company said.

SNC installed a new CEO and several new executives while tightening its ethics policies.

Shares of the company, which has a market value of C$6.42 billion, were down 2 percent at C$41.57 on the Toronto Stock Exchange on Wednesday. The stock has gained 12 percent since new CEO Robert Card took over the reins on October 1.

(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore)

Stocks treated in this article : AREVA, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc.