The following summarizes the “FCPA Docket” for individuals, which includes all known FCPA-related ongoing prosecutions, fugitives, sentencings, and pending appeals.
This information is current as of March 25, 2019.
FCPA-Related Ongoing Prosecutions
Uriel Sharef, Herbert Steffen, Ulrich Bock, Stephan Signer, Carlos Sergi and Miguel Czysch (DOJ | SDNY 11-1056): The DOJ charged eight defendants, all former senior executives with or agents of Siemens AG or one of its subsidiaries, on December 13, 2011. In addition to the above listed executives, Eberhard Reichert, a German national and former executive of Siemens Business Services, agreed to be extradited to the United States after his September 2017 arrest in Croatia and pleaded guilty on March 15, 2018, while Andres Truppel, an Argentinian national and the former CFO of Siemens Argentina, pleaded guilty on September 30, 2015. Both Reichert and Truppel are still awaiting sentencing (see Pending Sentencings below). No trial date has been scheduled for the other defendants, who remain at large. As non-U.S. nationals (either German or Argentinian) currently living abroad, these defendants will likely require extradition to be tried.
Dmitry Firtash, Andras Knopp, Suren Gevorgyan, Gajebdra Lal, Periyasamy Sunderalingam, and KVP Ramachandra Rao (DOJ | NDIL 13-515): The DOJ charged the defendants, all non-U.S. nationals, under seal on June 20, 2013, in connection with an alleged racketeering conspiracy in India, and later unsealed the charges on April 2, 2014. Firtash, a Ukrainian national, was arrested in March 2014 and released after posting $174 million in bail. According to the indictment, Firtash controls Group DF, a company named, but not charged, along with several other companies reportedly associated with Firtash. The United States sought to extradite Firtash, but had its request rejected by an Austrian court on April 30, 2015. This ruling was overturned on appeal on February 21, 2017, but on December 12, 2017, the Austrian Supreme Court stayed Firtash’s extradition pending its review of the appellate court decision, and the court has not yet issued a ruling. On August 27, 2018, Firtash and Knopp filed a motion to dismiss in U.S. federal court, arguing that the FCPA charge should be thrown out based on the 2nd Circuit’s decision on U.S. v. Hoskins (see immediately below). The court has not yet ruled on the motion. Outside of Firtash, the other defendants are still at large, and no trial dates are currently scheduled. As non-U.S. nationals currently living abroad, these defendants will likely require extradition to be tried. (Note: Rao, a Member of Parliament in India, has only been charged non-FCPA offenses).
Lawrence Hoskins (DOJ | DCCN 12-238): The DOJ charged Hoskins, the former Senior Vice-President of Alstom Asia, in a superseding indictment against William Pomponi, the former Vice-President of Regional Sales for Alstom SA’s U.S. subsidiary, on July 30, 2013. Pomponi pleaded guilty on July 17, 2014, but passed away in 2016 while awaiting sentencing. In contrast, Hoskins has sought to have the charges against him dismissed. Although on December 30, 2014, the Court denied Hoskins’ initial motion to dismiss, on August 14, 2015, the Court agreed to strike the conspiracy count against him on the grounds that Hoskins, a non-U.S. citizen/domestic concern, was not Alstom’s agent and so could not be prosecuted under the FCPA for conduct occurring outside the territory of the United States. On March 16, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut affirmed its earlier ruling that a non-resident foreign national cannot be charged with conspiracy to violate the FCPA (or with aiding and abetting a violation of the FCPA) unless the government can show that he acted either as an agent of a “domestic concern” or while physically present in the United States. DOJ appealed to the 2nd Circuit on April 4, 2016 (2d Cir. 16-01010). On August 24, 2018, the Second Circuit ruled that individuals can only be charged with conspiracy under the FCPA if they are directly covered by the statute. Hoskins still faces money laundering charges, and his trial is set for September 9, 2019.
Ban Ki Sang (DOJ | SDNY 16-cr-0831) and Sang Woo (DOJ | SDNY 17-0139): The DOJ charged Ban, a South Korean construction executive, along with his son Joo Hyun Bahn, a New York commercial real estate broker, and Malcolm Harris, an arts and fashion consultant and blogger, under seal in an indictment on December 15, 2016 (unsealing the charges on January 10, 2017). The DOJ subsequently charged Sang Woo and Andrew Simon, Manhattan-based commercial real estate brokers, in separate but related criminal complaints on January 10, 2017, and October 17, 2017, respectively. Woo and Bahn, both South Korean nationals and U.S. permanent residents, were arrested on January 10, 2017, while Harris was arrested on January 13, 2017. It is not clear when Simon was arrested. Harris pleaded guilty to a non-FCPA offense on June 21, 2017, and was sentenced on October 13, 2017. Bahn pleaded guilty on January 5, 2018, and was sentenced on September 6, 2018 (see Recent Dismissals, Sentencings, and Denials below). Simon pleaded guilty under seal on March 30, 2018, and was sentenced on February 25, 2019 (see Recent Dismissals, Sentencings, and Denials below). Woo, whose case had been continued until May 12, 2017, is reportedly in the midst of negotiating a potential plea. Finally, Ban, a South Korean national, remains at large. As a non-U.S. national living abroad, Ban will likely require extradition to be tried.
Michael L. Cohen (DOJ | EDNY 17-00544): The DOJ indicted Cohen, a former Och-Ziff executive, on FCPA-related charges under seal on October 5, 2017. The indictment was unsealed on January 3, 2018. Cohen, a dual U.S. and U.K. national, pleaded not guilty on June 27, 2018. No trial date has yet been scheduled. Separately, the SEC charged Cohen and his colleague Vanja Baros on related grounds on January 26, 2017, but the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed case on July 12, 2018 (see Dismissals, Sentencings, and Denials).
Joseph Baptiste and Roger Richard Boncy (DOJ | D Mass 17-10305): The DOJ charged Baptiste, a retired U.S. Army Colonel, under seal on August 28, 2017, and unsealed the complaint on August 29, 2017, the same day Baptiste was arrested. On October 5, 2017, the DOJ issued an indictment against Baptiste that included an additional charge. Trial is currently scheduled for Baptiste on June 3, 2019. On October 30, 2018, Roger Richard Boncy was charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, among other charges. The DOJ filed a superseding indictment on October 30, 2018, to include an additional count against Boncy for conspiracy to commit money laundering. No trial date for Boncy is currently scheduled.
Mark Lambert (DOJ | D. Md. 18-0002): The DOJ charged Lambert, the former co-president of a Maryland-based company that transports nuclear materials, under seal on January 10, 2018, and unsealed the 11-count indictment on January 16, 2018. No trial date is currently scheduled for Lambert, who reportedly rejected a pre-indictment plea, as well as a second plea agreement offered in October 2018.
Petros Contoguris, Azat Martirossian, and Vitaly Leshkov (DOJ | SDOH 17-233): The DOJ indicted Contoguris, a Greek national and the founder and chief executive officer of Gravitas & CIE International Ltd., on October 12, 2017, for activities related to the Rolls Royce enforcement action. Several other individuals, including James Finley, Keith Barnett, Aloysius Johannes Jozef Zuurhout, and Andreas Kohler, were indicted on related charges and have pleaded guilty (see Pending Sentences below). On May 24, 2018, the DOJ filed a superseding indictment also charging Azat Martirossian (an Armenian national) and Vitaly Leshkov (a Russian national), with money-laundering counts. On November 8, 2018, Martirossian filed a petition for a writ of mandamus with the Sixth Circuit, arguing that Mr. Martirossian is not personally subject to U.S. jurisdiction and that the extraterritorial reach of the statute under which he is charged is expressly limited. The appeal was dismissed and the writ of mandamus denied on March 7, 2019.
Nervis Gerardo Villalobos Cardenas (DOJ | SDTX 17-514): The DOJ indicted Villalobos and Luis Carlos De Leon Perez, both former employees of Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), on August 23, 2017, and unsealed the indictment on February 12, 2018. Villalobos and De Leon were arrested in Spain in October 2017 pursuant to warrants issued based on the unsealed indictment. De Leon was subsequently extradited and pleaded guilty on July 16, 2018 (see Pending Sentences below). Villalobos is still awaiting extradition to the United States and does not yet have a trial date scheduled. Co-defendants Cesar David Rincon Godoy, Rafael Ernesto Reiter Munoz, and Alejandro Isturiz Chiesa were all charged with non-FCPA offenses.
Frank Roberto Chatburn Ripalda (DOJ | SDFL 18-20312): The DOJ indicted Ripalda, a U.S.-based financial advisor, on FCPA-related charges on April 19, 2018, and filed a superseding indictment on December 13, 2018. Ripalda was charged alongside Jose Larrea, another U.S.-based financial advisor, who pleaded guilty to a non-FCPA count on September 11, 2018. The men were charged in connection with a scheme to bribe officials from Empresa Pública de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (PetroEcuador). Ripalda is contesting the charges, and his trial is scheduled for September 16, 2019.
Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino (DOJ | SDFL 18-mj-03171): Testino, a U.S. citizen who controlled a number of U.S. and Panama-based energy companies that supplied equipment and services to PDVSA, was arrested in Florida on July 31, 2018, based on a sealed criminal complaint filed by the DOJ in the Southern District of Texas. Testino is the seventeenth individual charged in connection with the PDVSA scandal (see several other listings in both Ongoing Prosecutions and Pending Sentencings). The current status of Testino’s prosecution is unclear, as the case remains under seal.
Ng Chong Hwa (“Roger Ng”) (DOJ | EDNY 18-538): The DOJ indicted Ng, a Malaysian national who formerly served as managing director for Goldman Sachs in Malaysia, along with Low Taek Jho (“Jho Low”), a prominent Malaysian financial advisor, on October 3, 2018, in connection with the 1MDB bribery scandal. Ng was arrested in Malaysia on November 1, 2018, and waived his rights to challenge his extradition to the United States. Malaysian authorities have charged him with violating the Capital Markets and Services Act (CMSA), and it is likely that he will be extradited to the United States after facing charges in Malaysia. Low is a fugitive (see Fugitives below).
Gordon J. Coburn and Steven Schwartz (DOJ | DNJ 19-120) and (SEC | DNJ 19-cv-05820): The DOJ indicted Coburn and Schwartz, the president and chief legal officer, respectively, of Cognizant Technology Solutions on February 14, 2019. The SEC charged Coburn and Schwartz with related securities violations on the next day. No trial dates are currently scheduled in either the criminal or civil cases.
Gulnara Karimova and Bekhzod Akhmedov (DOJ | SDNY 19-165): The DOJ indicted Karimova, daughter of Uzbekistan’s former president, and Akhmedov, former head of Uzdunrobita (MTS’s Uzbek subsidiary), on March 7, 2019, in connection with FCPA allegations relating to several recent FCPA settlements. Karimova is reportedly under house arrest in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Akhmedov escaped Uzbekistan and is believed to be residing in Moscow.
Rafael Enrique Pinto Franceschi and Franz Herman Muller Huber (DOJ | SDTX 19-135): The DOJ indicted Franceschi and Huber, executives at a Florida-based company, on February 26, 2019, in connection with the PDVSA bribery scheme (see several other listings in both Ongoing Prosecutions and Pending Sentencings). Franceschi and Huber were both arrested on March 1, 2019, and neither has yet entered a plea.
FCPA-Related Fugitives
Low Taek Jho (“Jho Low”) (DOJ | EDNY 18-538): The DOJ indicted Low Taek Jho (“Jho Low”), a prominent Malaysian financial advisor, along with Ng Chong Hwa (“Roger Ng”), a Malaysian national who formerly served as managing director for Goldman Sachs in Malaysia, on October 3, 2018, in connection with the 1MDB bribery case. Low is a fugitive who, according to the Malaysian government, is residing in a country that is not cooperating with extradition efforts. Ng was arrested in Malaysia on November 1, 2018 (see Ongoing Prosecutions above).
Raúl Gorrín Belisario (DOJ | SDFL 18-80160): The DOJ unsealed an August 2018 indictment against Gorrin Belisario, a Venezuelan who owns the Globovisión news network, on November 19, 2018. The charges relate to the alleged bribery of Alejandro Andrade Cedeno (a former Venezuelan national treasurer) among other Venezuelan officials. Belisario, a non-U.S. national living abroad, is considered a fugitive and his whereabouts are unknown.
Alain Riedo (DOJ | SDCA 13-3789): The DOJ charged Riedo, the former Vice-President and General Manager of Maxwell Technologies’ wholly owned Swiss subsidiary, on October 15, 2013, and an arrest warrant was issued the same day. No trial date is currently scheduled, with Reido still at large. Riedo is considered a fugitive and, as a non-U.S. national living abroad, will likely require extradition to be tried.
Jald Jensen (DOJ | NDOK 12-06): The DOJ charged Jensen, a former Sales Manager for Bizjet International, along with Bernd Kowalewski, the former CEO of Bizjet, on April 5, 2013. Kowalewski, who pleaded guilty in July 2014, was sentenced to time served on November 18, 2014. Jensen, a naturalized U.S. citizen who remains at large, is believed to be living outside of the United States and has no trial date currently scheduled. According to press reports, U.S. authorities believed they were close to extraditing Jensen from Panama in 2013.
Han Yong Kim (DOJ | CDCA 09-77): The DOJ charged Kim, the former president of CCI’s Korean office, on April 8, 2009. Kim, a non-U.S. national, challenged his fugitive status in an attempt to contest his indictment without surrendering to U.S. authorities. The Ninth Circuit rejected his challenge in April 2014. The South Korean government has reportedly refused requests to extradite Kim because it does not consider the individuals Kim is accused of bribing to be public officials.
Washington Vasconez Cruz, and Cecilia Zurita, (DOJ | SDFL 09-21010): The DOJ initially charged Cruz, and Zurita, executives with the telecommunications companies Uniplex Telecom Technologies and Cinergy Telecommunications, in 2011, and issued a superseding indictment in 2012. Cruz and Zurita were declared fugitives on March 7, 2013, along with a third defendant, Amadeus Richers, who was arrested on February 23, 2017, pleaded guilty on July 19, 2017, and was sentenced to time served and ordered to pay a $100 fine on September 27, 2017. Numerous other individuals have been convicted in connection with this matter, including former co-defendants Joel Esquenazi and Carlos Rodriguez, who unsuccessfully appealed their 2011 convictions to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Enrique Faustino Aguilar Noriega (DOJ | CDCA 10-1031): The DOJ charged Noriega in 2010, along with Linsday Manufacturing and several other defendants. Noriega was the Director of Grupo Internacional de Asesores SA, a sales agent hired by Lindsay Manufacturing. While Linsday Manufacturing and all the other individuals charged in connection with this case have had the charges against them dropped, Noreiga’s case is still listed as open. Although the United States has reportedly ended its efforts to extradite Noriega, he remains a fugitive.
James Tillery (DOJ | SDTX 08-22): The DOJ charged Tillery, a former executive for Willbros International, in 2008. Tillery was reportedly arrested in Nigeria in 2010, but immigration officials prevented the FBI from extraditing him without proper documentation. A Nigerian court later found the initial arrest of Tillery to be illegal and ordered him released. Nigerian police, however, reportedly refused to comply with this request. The status of U.S. efforts to extradite Tillery is unclear. Tillery remains a fugitive.
Edgar Valverde Acosta (DOJ | SDFL 06-20797): The DOJ charged Acosta, the President of Alcatel de Costa Rica and Senior Country Officer for Alcatel Lucent SA in Central America, in 2006. Acosta is considered a fugitive.
Victor Kozeny (DOJ | SDNY 05-518): The DOJ charged Kozeny, a Czech-born investor, in 2005. The United States attempted to extradite Kozeny from the Bahamas for years; however, the Bahamas’ court of last resort, the U.K. Privy Council, rejected the extradition request on March 28, 2012. Kozeny remains a fugitive.
Pablo Barquero Hernandez (DOJ | WDMO 01-190): The DOJ charged Hernandez, a former employee of Owl Securities and Investment, in 2001. Hernandez is considered a fugitive.
Joaquin Pou (DOJ | SDFL 89-802): The DOJ charged Pou, a former agent for AEA Aircraft Recovery, in 1989. Pou is considered a fugitive.
Ricardo Beltran and Mario Gonzalez (DOJ | SDTX 82-224): The DOJ charged Beltran and Gonzalez, both associated with Grupo Delta, in 1982. Beltran and Gonzalez are considered fugitives.
FCPA-Related Pending Sentencings
Andres Truppel (DOJ | SDNY 11-1056): The DOJ charged Truppel, an Argentinian national and the former Chief Financial Officer of Siemens Argentina, on December 13, 2011, alongside several other former senior executives of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries (see Ongoing Prosecutions above and Eberhard Reichert in this section). After initially challenging the DOJ’s attempts to extradite him, Truppel pleaded guilty on September 30, 2015. His sentencing date, previously set for April 14, 2017, was delayed, reportedly due to Truppel’s ill health, and does not appear to have been re-scheduled.
Daren Condrey (DOJ | DCMD 15-336): The DOJ charged Condrey, the Principal of Transport Logistics International, with FCPA-related charges on June 16, 2015. Condrey pleaded guilty on June 17, 2015. Two of Condrey’s co-conspirators, Vadim Mikerin (the former director of Tenex, a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporations) and Boris Rubizhevsky (a consultant to Mikerin) also pleaded guilty to related money-laundering counts last year, though neither was charged under the FCPA. Condrey’s sentencing was set for June 1, 2017. Numerous documents have been filed under seal since that date.
Fernando Ardila Rueda (DOJ | SDTX 17-515): The DOJ filed a criminal information against Rueda, part owner of several Florida-based businesses, on August 24, 2017, in connection with the PDVSA bribery scheme (see several other listings in both Ongoing Prosecutions and Pending Sentencings). Rueda pleaded guilty on October 11, 2017, and his sentencing is scheduled for May 9, 2019.
Charles Quintard Beech (DOJ | SDTX 17-00006) and Juan Jose Hernandez-Comerma (SDTX 17-00005): The DOJ charged Beech and Hernandez-Comerma, two executives from U.S.-based energy companies on January 4, 2017, in connection with the PDVSA-related bribery scheme (see several other listings in both Ongoing Prosecutions and Pending Sentencings). Beech and Hernandez-Comerma pleaded guilty on January 10, 2017. Hernandez-Comerma’s sentencing is scheduled for May 9, 2019; while Beech’s sentencing is scheduled for July 30, 2019.
Frank James Lyon (DOJ | D Haw. 19-0008): The DOJ filed a criminal information against Lyon, owner of a Hawaii-based engineering and consulting company, on January 16, 2019. Lyon was charged alongside Master Halbert, an official with the Micronesian Department of Transportation, Communications and Infrastructure, against whom the DOJ filed non-FCPA charges. Lyon pleaded guilty to an FCPA-related charge on January 22, 2019, and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 13, 2019.
Julia Vivi Wang (DOJ | SDNY 18-20108): The DOJ filed a criminal information against Wang, a naturalized U.S. citizen and vice-president of South News (a U.N.-focused media outlet), on March 16, 2016, followed by a superseding information on July 21, 2016. Wang pleaded guilty on two FCPA counts, among others, on April 4, 2018. She is scheduled to be sentenced on June 5, 2019.
Tim Leissner (DOJ | EDNY 18- 439): The DOJ filed a sealed criminal information against Leissner, the former chairman of Goldman Sachs in Southeast Asia, on August 28, 2018, in connection with the 1MDB bribery scandal. Leissner pleaded guilty on November 1, 2018, the same day the indictment was unsealed, and his sentencing is scheduled for June 28, 2019.
Jeffrey Chow (DOJ | EDNY 17-466): The DOJ unsealed charges against Chow, a former lawyer for Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd, on December 21, 2017. Chow pleaded guilty on August 29, 2017, and agreed to cooperate in the DOJ’s efforts to prosecute Keppel Offshore and certain former company executives. Chow’s sentencing is currently scheduled for July 17, 2019.
Moises Abraham Millan Escobar (DOJ |SDTX 16-009): The DOJ filed a criminal information against Escobar, an employee of Abraham Jose Shiera Bastidas, on January 7, 2016, in connection with the PDVSA-related bribery scheme (see several other listings in both Ongoing Prosecutions and Pending Sentencings). Escobar pleaded guilty on January 19, 2016, but the plea agreement remains under seal. The Court entered a $533,578 monetary judgment against Escobar on August 30, 2016, while sentencing in the case is scheduled for July 30, 2019.
Juan Carlos Castillo Rincon (SDTX 18-00200): The DOJ indicted Rincon, a Texas businessman, on an FCPA-related count on April 11, 2018. He was prosecuted in connection with the payment of alleged bribes to PDVSA official Jose Orlando Camacho, who pleaded guilty to a money-laundering count in July 2017. Ricon pleaded guilty on September 13, 2018, and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 30, 2019.
Roberto Enrique Rincon-Fernandez and Abraham Jose Shiera Bastidas (DOJ | SDTX 15-654): The DOJ charged Rincon and Bastidas, each the owner (together with others) of several closely held oil-related companies, on December 10, 2015. The defendants are among numerous individuals charged in connection with a scheme to scheme to corruptly secure contracts from Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, PDVSA (see several other listings in both Ongoing Prosecutions and Pending Sentencings). Rincon pleaded guilty to both FCPA-related and non-FCPA charges on June 16, 2016. Bastidas pleaded guilty to FCPA-related and non-FCPA charges on March 22, 2016. Sentencing for both defendants is set for July 31, 2019.
Eberhard Reichert (DOJ | SDNY 11-1056): The DOJ charged Reichert, a German national and former executive of Siemens Business Services, on December 13, 2011, alongside several other former senior executives of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries (see Ongoing Prosecutions above and Andres Truppel in this section). Reichert, agreed to be extradited to the United States after his September 2017 arrest in Croatia. He pleaded guilty on March 15, 2018, and his sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
David Rothschild (DOJ | DCCN 12-223): The DOJ charged Rothschild, the former Vice President of Sales of Alstom USA, on November 2, 2012. Rothschild pleaded guilty to the FCPA-related charges on that same day, but his settlement was not unsealed until April 15, 2013. Rothschild sentencing has not yet been scheduled and the last entry on his docket is dated December 17, 2014.
James Finley, Aloysius Johannes Jozef Zuurhout, Keith Barnett, and Andreas Kohler (DOJ | SDOH 17-160, 17-122, 16-248, and 17-113): The DOJ charged the defendants, three of which are former Rolls-Royce employees, under seal on July 21, 2017, June 9, 2017, December 20, 2016, and June 6, 2017, respectively, and unsealed the charges on November 7, 2017. Finley, a former senior executive in energy at Rolls-Royce, pleaded guilty on July 28, 2017. Zuurhout, a former energy sales employee at Rolls-Royce, pleaded guilty on June 13, 2017. Barnett, a former regional director in energy at Rolls-Royce, pleaded guilty on December 20, 2016. And Kohler, a managing director at an unnamed international engineering and consulting firm, pleaded guilty on July 20, 2017. Sentencing dates for these four defendants have not been set. Another individual, Petros Contoguris, was also indicted, but has not entered a plea (see Ongoing Prosecutions above).
Luis Carlos De Leon Perez (DOJ | SDTX 17-514): The DOJ indicted De Leon and Nervis Gerardo Villalobos Cardenas, both former employees of PDVSA, on August 23, 2017, and unsealed the indictment on February 12, 2018. De Leon and Villalobos were arrested in Spain. De Leon was subsequently extradited and pleaded guilty on July 16, 2018, and his sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. Villalobos is still awaiting extradition to the United States (see Ongoing Prosecutions above).
FCPA- Related Appeals
Dmitrij Harder (DOJ | EDPA 15-1; 3rd Cir. 17-2698): The DOJ charged Harder, the former owner and president of the Chestnut Group, on January 6, 2015, and then filed a superseding indictment on December 15, 2015. Harder pleaded guilty to FCPA-related charges on April 18, 2016. On July 18, 2017, Harder was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment. Despite waiving part of his right to appeal, Harder appealed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on August 7, 2017. The DOJ filed a motion in response requesting enforcement of the waiver. The Court rejected Harder’s “economic benefit” argument and ruled against Harder on November 9, 2018.
Recent FCPA-Related Dismissals, Sentencings and Denials
Ng Lap Seng and Jeff C. Yin (DOJ | SDNY 15-706): The DOJ filed a second superseding indictment against Macau billionaire Ng and his assistant Yin on November 22, 2016, that added FCPA counts to the original October 20, 2015 indictment charging Ng and Yin, alongside two other defendants, with a variety of non-FCPA offenses, and the June 30, 2016 superseding indictment charging Ng and Yin with an additional conspiracy count. Yin pleaded guilty on April 7, 2017, and was sentenced on March 26, 2018, to 7 months and 2 years of probation and ordered to pay $37,367 in restitution. Ng contested the charges against him and was convicted of both FCPA and non-FCPA counts at trial on July 27, 2017. He was sentenced on May 11, 2018, to 48 months imprisonment and ordered to pay a $1 million fine, a $1.5 million forfeiture, and $303,000 restitution to the United Nations.
Michael L. Cohen and Vanja Baros (SEC | EDNY 17-00430) The SEC charged Cohen and Baros, both former Och-Ziff executives, with FCPA-related charges on January 26, 2017. Cohen is a dual U.S. and U.K. national, while Baros is an Australian national living in the United Kingdom. On July 12, 2018, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the SEC’s case against both Cohen and Baros on the ground that the claims were time-barred. Separately, the DOJ indicted Cohen on related charges on January 3, 2018 (see Ongoing Prosecutions).
Joo Hyun Bahn (DOJ | SDNY 16-0831): The DOJ charged Bahn, a New York commercial real estate broker, under seal in an indictment on December 15, 2016 (unsealing the charges on January 10, 2017). He was charged alongside several other individuals in connection with an effort to bribe officials in Vietnam, including Malcolm Harris, an arts and fashion consultant and blogger, Ban ki Sang, a South Korean construction executive and Bahn’s father, and Sang Woo and Andrew Simon, Manhattan real estate brokers who were each charged in separate criminal complaints (see Ongoing Prosecutions above and this Recent Dismissals, Sentencings, and Denial section). Bahn, a South Korean national and U.S. permanent resident, was arrested on January 10, 2017. He pleaded guilty on January 5, 2018, and was sentenced on September 6, 2018, to 6 months imprisonment and ordered to disgorge $225,000.
Anthony Mace and Robert Zubiate (DOJ | SDTX 17-618 and 17-591): The DOJ filed FCPA-related criminal informations against Zubiate (a former Sales and Marketing Director for SBM) and Mace (the former CEO of SBM) on October 6, 2017, and October 19, 2017, respectively. Zubiate pleaded guilty on November 6, 2017, while Mace pleaded guilty on November 9, 2017. Both men were sentenced on September 28, 2018, Zubiate to 30 months imprisonment and a $50,000 fine, and Mace to 36 months imprisonment and a $150,000 fine.
Colin Steven (DOJ | SDNY 17-788): The DOJ filed a criminal information against Steven, a former Embraer sales vice-president, with FCPA-related charges on December 21, 2017. Steven pleaded guilty the same day and was sentenced to time served on December 12, 2018, and ordered to pay a $25,000 fine.
Andrew Simon (DOJ | SDNY 16-831): The DOJ charged Simon, a Manhattan-based commercial real estate broker, on October 17, 2017. He was charged, along with numerous others, in connection with an effort to bribe officials in Vietnam (see Ongoing Prosecutions above and this Recent Dismissals, Sentencings, and Denial section). It is not clear when Simon was arrested, but he pleaded guilty under seal on March 30, 2018 and was sentenced on February 25, 2019, to time served and ordered to pay $500,000 in restitution.
Chi Ping Patrick Ho (DOJ | SDNY 17-779): The DOJ charged Ho, the head of a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization, along with Cheikh Gadio, the former foreign minister of Senegal, under seal on November 16, 2017, and unsealed the complaint on November 20, 2017. Ho contested the charges at trial and was found guilty on December 5, 2018, of all but one of the counts against him. Ho was sentenced on March 25, 2019, to three years imprisonment and ordered to pay a $400,000 fine. The charges against Gadio were dismissed on September 14, 2018 (see this Dismissals, Sentencings and Denials section).
Cheikh Gadio (DOJ | SDNY 17-8611): The DOJ charged Gadio, the former foreign minister of Senegal and operator of an international consulting firm, on FCPA-related counts under seal on November 16, 2017, before unsealing the complaint on November 20, 2017. Gadio was charged alongside Patrick Ho, Deputy Chairman and Secretary-General of China Energy Fund Committee. The charges against Gadio were dismissed on September 14, 2018, in exchange for his agreement to testify against Ho, who was convicted at trial on December 5, 2018, and sentenced on March 25, 2019 (see this Dismissals, Sentencings and Denials section).
Lawrence W. Parker, Jr. (DOJ | SDFL 17-20914): The DOJ filed an FCPA-related criminal information against Parker on December 20, 2017, in connection with bribes paid to Egbert Yvan Ferdinand Koolman, an official with Aruba’s state-owned telecom company whom the DOJ charged with non-FCPA counts on January 31, 2018. Parker pleaded guilty on December 28, 2017, and was sentenced on April 30, 2018, to 35 months imprisonment and ordered to pay $701,750 in restitution. (Koolman pleaded guilty on April 13, 2018 and was sentenced on June 27, 2018 to three years imprisonment and ordered to pay $1.3 million in restitution.)
Paul A. Margis and Takeshi “Tyrone” Uonaga (SEC | File No. 3-18938 and 3-18939): The SEC filed cease-and-desist orders against Margis, the former CEO of Panasonic Avionics, and Uonaga, its former CFO, on December 18, 2018. To resolve the charges, Margis agreed to pay a $75,000 fine to resolve the charges, while Uonaga agreed to pay a $50,000 fine and was barred from appearing or practicing before the SEC as an accountant for at least five years.
Patricio Contesse González (SEC | File No. 3-18839): The SEC filed a cease-and-desist order against González, the former CEO of Chilean-based chemical and mining company Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile, S.A. (SQM), on September 25, 2018. To resolve the charges, González agreed to pay a $125,000 fine.
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Marc Alain Bohn is a contributing editor of the FCPA Blog and Counsel in the International Department of Miller & Chevalier. He focuses on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and other areas of international corporate compliance, including export controls and economic sanctions. He can be contacted here.
Christine Ciambella is a Librarian at Miller & Chevalier.
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