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Page 7 of 17

November 8, 2018

The United States charged two South Korean nationals, Hyeong-won Lee and Dong-guel Lee, of defrauding the federal government in connection with two multimillion dollar construction contracts their employer, South Korea-based SK Engineering & Construction Co., Ltd., (SK), had with the U.S. Army. From 2008 to 2017, acting on behalf of SK, the two allegedly submitted fraudulent subcontracts that were based on millions of dollars of kickbacks that SK paid to a U.S. official in exchange for being awarded the contracts. While the fraud was being investigated, the two also took pains to disguise the kickbacks and fraud even further by ordering employees to burn boxes of evidence and persuading them not to testify. DOJ; USAO WDTN

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Defense Contract Fraud, Government Procurement Fraud, International Whistleblowers,

October 30, 2018

Two men have been charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) for attempting to bribe Haitian government officials in order to win approval for an $84 million development project. The project would've involved building multiple facilities around the port near Môle St. Nicolas, including cement factories, shipping-related stations, a power plant, and tourist centers. To win approval for the project, Roger Richard Boncy and Joseph Baptiste allegedly discussed bribing a high-level aide, and planned to funnel the bribes through a fake humanitarian nonprofit based in Maryland. DOJ; USAO MA

Tagged in: FCPA,

September 28, 2018

Stryker Corp has agreed to pay $7.8 million to settle charges of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in sales of its products in China, India, and Kuwait. This is the company's second alleged violation of the FCPA in recent times; the company had paid $13.2 million to settle similar charges in 2013. According to the SEC, the current charges relate to inadequate internal controls and inaccurately recorded records. In addition to the penalty, the settlement will now require Stryker to retain an independent compliance consultant. SEC

Tagged in: FCPA, Securities Fraud,

September 27, 2018

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A. has agreed to pay a $853 million penalty and $933 million in disgorgement to settle DOJ and SEC charges that it violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and filed false documents with the SEC that misled U.S. investors. According to the non-prosecution agreement struck with the DOJ, and the related SEC order, the Brazilian oil and gas company allegedly paid billions of dollars in bribes to Brazilian politicians, and then falsely categorized these kickbacks in records as relating to asset acquisition and management. DOJ; SEC.

Tagged in: FCPA, Securities Fraud,

September 25, 2018

The CEO of a Chilean-based chemical and mining company, Patricio Contesse, has agreed to pay $125,000 to settle allegations of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by paying over $15 million in bribes to Chilean politicians over the course of seven years, falsifying documents, and lying to auditors. His company, Sociedad Quimica y Minera de Chile, S.A. (SQM), had previously paid $30 million to settle related civil and criminal charges. SEC

Tagged in: FCPA,

September 24, 2018

The SEC announced that it awarded $4 million to an individual residing overseas who had submitted a tip to the SEC Whistleblower Program.  The individual's tip led to an investigation.  The whistleblower's name, the subject of the underlying investigation, and the nature of the wrongdoing were not reported by the SEC, which offers anonymity under its Whistleblower Program.  SEC

Tagged in: International Whistleblowers, SEC Whistleblower Reward Program, Whistleblower Rewards,

September 24, 2018

Azam Doost, the former owner of Equity Capital Mining LLC, which operated a marble mine in Afghanistan, was convicted for defrauding the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, a U.S. government agency in a $15.8 million loan the company obtained from OPIC. Doost had represented that he had no affiliation with mine suppliers who were paid from the loan proceeds; in fact, he had financial relationships with several of the suppliers, and diverted OPIC funds paid to those suppliers for his own use.  DOJ  For information on later sentencing, see here.

Tagged in: Bribery and Bid-Rigging, Criminal Proceedings, Government Loan Programs, International Whistleblowers,

September 12, 2018

United Technologies Corporation will pay a $13.9 million fine to resolve charges that it made payments in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in an effort to sell elevators in Azerbaijan and China, and to sell aircraft engine parts China.  The payments, including trips and gifts to various foreign officials in China, Kuwait, South Korea, Pakistan, Thailand, and Indonesia, were made by United Technology's subsidiaries Otis Elevator Co. and Pratt & Whitney.  SEC

Tagged in: FCPA,

September 6, 2018

A real estate broker for Colliers International Group, Inc. has agreed to pay $225,000 to settle FCPA charges of attempting to bribe a foreign official over the sale of a commercial building in Vietnam. The broker, Joohyun Bahn, had paid the bribe to a middleman, bypassed internal accounting controls, created fake documents and messages, and lied to executives about the supposedly impending sale, which caused the company to falsely record revenue. Unfortunately for Bahn, the sale never went through because the middleman had kept the bribe for himself. SEC

Tagged in: FCPA, Securities Fraud,

September 4, 2018

Pharmaceutical company Sanofi has agreed to pay more than $25 million to resolve charges under the FCPA that it made corrupt payments to win business in Kazakhstan and the Middle East. Sanofi was alleged to have made payments to various government officials and healthcare providers to induce them to purchase or prescribe Sanofi's products.  SEC

Tagged in: FCPA, Pharma Fraud,

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