In the FCPA’s 45 years, there have been only 21 trials (based on my research).
The FCPA’s 22nd trial began in early January in a courtroom in the Eastern District of New York.
The case is U.S. v. Javier Aguilar. (See here for the prior post detailing the charges).
Late Friday, the DOJ announced that a federal jury in Brooklyn convicted Aguilar “for his role in a scheme to bribe Ecuadorean and Mexican government officials and to launder money to secure contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars for his then-employer, Vitol Inc. (Vitol), the U.S. affiliate of the largest independent energy trading firm in the world.”
As stated in the DOJ release:
“The trial evidence showed that, between 2015 and 2020, Aguilar was a trader in Vitol’s Houston office. As a part of the scheme, Aguilar and his co-conspirators agreed to bribe senior Ecuadorian officials to obtain a $300 million contract to purchase fuel oil for Vitol. Aguilar and his co-conspirators used another Middle Eastern state-owned entity to circumvent Petroecuador’s restrictions on contracts with private companies. In return for the promise and payments of bribes, the Ecuadorian officials then ensured that the Middle Eastern state-owned entity and Vitol were awarded the contract. Following the 2017 Ecuadorean presidential election, the officials who received bribes were replaced by new senior officials. To ensure continuity under the then-existing fuel oil contract and to obtain additional business, Aguilar and his co-conspirators agreed to bribe them as well.
To conceal the scheme, Aguilar and his co-conspirators used a series of fake contracts, sham invoices, and shell entities incorporated in Curacao, Panama, and Cayman Islands. Aguilar also used alias email accounts to communicate with his co-conspirators rather than his Vitol email.
The evidence at trial also demonstrated that Aguilar used the same system of shell entities and sham invoices to launder bribe payments to two officials at PPI. In total, Aguilar paid approximately $600,000 in bribes to these officials to obtain numerous contracts for Vitol to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of ethane gas to PEMEX.
The jury convicted Aguilar of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), violating the FCPA, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. He faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison on each of the FCPA counts and 20 years in prison on the money laundering count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.”
In the release, Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated:
“Javier Aguilar bribed officials at state-owned oil and gas companies in Ecuador and Mexico using shell companies and sham invoices to obtain business for Vitol Inc., where he worked as an oil and gas trader. With today’s verdict, the jury has held him accountable for his role in a sophisticated bribery and money laundering scheme that netted Vitol hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts. Foreign bribery erodes the rule of law, disadvantages honest companies, and emboldens corrupt government officials. The Criminal Division will continue to vigorously pursue wrongdoers who bribe foreign officials and bring them to justice.”
U.S. Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York stated:
“Today’s verdict represents another victory in this office’s commitment to rooting out corruption in the international marketplace. The defendant and his co-conspirators sought to enrich themselves through criminal backroom deals. The people of Ecuador and Mexico deserved better and companies that play by the rules should know that the process is not rigged. The Justice Department and my office will continue to prioritize holding to account individuals who enrich themselves through bribery.”
Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey Veltri of the FBI Miami Field Office stated:
“As demonstrated by this case, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act has a long reach. Aguilar’s egregious attempt to get away with bribing officials in Ecuador and Mexico failed, and he will now face tough penalties. I want to commend our partners in the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and at the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York for their close cooperation on this case.”
