Hearing From Others

Lowell Bergman’s Frontline has produced a nice profile of Nuhu Ribadu. He chaired Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission between 2003 and 2007. When he did too good of a job, he made enemies in high places and was targeted for assassination. We’ve written about him here.

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PEPs and their pros. Here’s an item from a regular reader:

Dear FCPA Blog,

Thought this would be of interest to you:

Keeping Foreign Corruption Out of the United States: Four Case Histories

Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
Thursday, February 4, 2010
09:30 AM

Dirksen Senate Office Building, room 342

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will examine how some politically powerful foreign officials, their relatives, or close associates – referred to in international agreements as “Politically Exposed Persons” or PEPs – have used the services of U.S. professionals and U.S. financial institutions to bring millions of dollars in suspect funds into the United States to advance their interests.

Four case histories will illustrate how some PEPs have used U.S. lawyers, realtors, escrow agents, lobbyists, bankers, and others to circumvent U.S. anti-money laundering and anti-corruption safeguards. It will also look at how some U.S. professionals have actively helped PEPs avoid bank scrutiny or facilitated suspect transactions with no questions asked.

The hearing will also examine whether U.S. policies and practices to combat foreign corruption and money laundering need strengthening.

Witnesses will include government agencies, including the State Department, Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), as well as lawyers, a realtor, and representatives of financial institutions.

A witness list will be available Tuesday, February 2, 2010.

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Who did they work for? Christopher Matthews on Main Justice posted the names of the employers of most of the 22 individuals arrested in the mega-bust in Las Vegas. The indictments didn’t name the employers but reports in the press, here and other sites have identified most of the companies involved.