This post highlights nine FCPA enforcement actions concerning conduct (in whole or in part) in Egypt.
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Egypt and alleged that from “2016 until early 2020, certain of Corsa’s employees and agents engaged in a scheme to bribe Egyptian government officials in order to obtain and retain lucrative contracts to supply coal to Al Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals (“Al Nasr”), an Egyptian state-owned and -controlled coke company. To effectuate the scheme, Corsa paid approximately $4.8 million to an Egypt-based third-party intermediary that Corsa’s employees knew would be used, at least in part, to pay bribes to Egyptian government officials, including the Chairman of Al Nasr. In exchange for the bribe payments, Corsa secured approximately $143 million in coal contracts from Al Nasr and earned approximately $32.7 million in profits.” Individual enforcement actions were also based on the same core conduct.
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Angola, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, China, and Egypt.
As to Egypt, the allegations were: “From September 2010 to May 2015, GC Egypt employees gave or offered to give more than $80,000 in improper payments, including cash, gifts, or tips to employees of certain customers or suppliers, some of which were Egyptian SOEs, resulting in approximately $114,000 in profits. Some of these payments were improperly recorded as “consultant fees” for SOE customer employees to add GC Egypt to, or not to remove it from, supplier lists of the SOE customers. Also, GC Egypt gave small amounts of cash or merchandise, such as laptop computers and televisions, to employees of SOE customers or suppliers as tips, “new year gifts,” to buy goodwill, or to recognize them in winning or successfully completing contracts.”
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the Bahamas, and Taiwan.
As to Egypt, the allegations focused on bidding on various projects with the Egyptian Electricity Holding Company (“EEHC”), the state-owned and state-controlled electricity company in Egypt. In connection with various projects, “Alstom disguised on its books and records millions of dollars and other things of value provided to Egyptian officials to obtain or retain business in connection with power projects for Alstom and its subsidiaries. Alstom used a consultant whose primary purpose “was not to provide legitimate consulting services to Alstom and its subsidiaries but was instead to make payments to Egyptian officials, including Asem Elgawhary who oversaw the bidding process.” Additional allegations focused on bidding on various grid projects with EEHC and the Egyptian Electricity Transmission Company (“EETC”), the state-owned and state-controlled electricity transmission company in Egypt. “In connection with [these projects], Alstom disguised on its books and records payments and other things of value it provided to Egyptian officials in exchange for those officials’ assistance in securing and executing the transmission and distribution projects for Alstom and its subsidiaries. Alstom employees “paid for entertainment and travel for [a high-level official] and other key decision-makers at EETC and EEHC, and provided those officials with envelopes of cash and other gifts during such travel.”
The enforcement action concerned conduct in China, India, Thailand, Laos, Indonesia, Bosnia, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Congo, Niger, Madagascar, and Turkey.
As to Egypt, the allegations were: “[Between 2004 to 2008] an Egyptian agent of TFIS UK [a indirect wholly owned subsidiary] wired approximately $282,022 to a former employee’s personal bank account with the understanding that the money would be used in connection with entertainment expenses for representatives of a company majority-owned by the Egyptian government. A portion of the funds was used to pay for lodging, meals, transportation, spending money, and entertainment expenses for that company’s officials on two trips to the United Kingdom and two trips to the U.S. TFIS UK made payments pursuant to inflated invoices submitted by the company’s Egyptian agent, who wired funds to the former employees to be used to entertain foreign officials. TFIS U.K. books and records did not accurately reflect TFIS’s U.K.’s understanding that the funds would be used for entertainment of government officials, and TFIS UK did not maintain sufficient internal controls over its payments to agents. As a result, Tyco’s books and records were misstated. Tyco’s benefits as a result of these illicit payments was $1,589,374.”
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Egypt, Indonesia, Myanmar, Panama, the United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.
As to Egypt, the allegations were that from Aon “served as insurance broker for an Egyptian government-owned company, the Egyptian Armament Authority (“EAA”), and its U.S. arm, the Egyptian Procurement Office (“EPO”) and that Aon paid for delegation trips for EAA and EPO officials to various U.S. destinations that “had some business component” but also “included a disproportionate amount of leisure activities and lasted longer than the business component would justify.”
The enforcement action concerned conduct in at least 22 countries – including China, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Iraq, Ivory Coast, Latvia, Nigeria, Russia, Serbia and Montenegro, Thailand, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam. The resolution documents do not contain any specific allegations regarding Egypt.
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Iraq, Bahrain, Egypt, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates.
As to Egypt, the allegations were that payments were paid to consulting firms or contractors designated by customers. These payments were described as being for services rendered by these consultants and contractors in changing design specifications so that they would be more favorable to York International.
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Egypt and the allegations focused on sewage and wastewater treatment facility projects in Alexandria, Egypt sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development (“USAID”) for the benefit of the Alexandria General Organization for Sanitary Drainage (“AGOSD”), an alleged instrumentality of the Government of Egypt. Metcalf & Eddy and M&E International provided excessive travel and entertainment expenses to the Chairman of AGOSD “to induce the official to use his influence to effect and influence an act of the Government of Egypt” in connection with two contracts (1) an approximate $11 million wastewater treatment facility project and (2) an approximate $25 million architectural and engineering services project.
The enforcement action concerned conduct in Egypt and the allegations were that Lockheed conspired to violate the FCPA by making a $1 million payment to Dr. Leila I. Takla (a member of the Peoples’ Assembly of the Arab Republic of Egypt) for the purpose of influencing Takla to assist Lockheed in obtaining a contract for the sale of three C-130-H-30 Hercules aircraft to Egypt. The contract was valued at approximately $79 million, and was funded by U.S. aid in the form of grant money administered by the Department of Defense under the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program. The same core conduct also resulted in an individual enforcement action.
