Bolivia Archives - FCPA Professor

Four Individuals Criminally Charged In Connection With Bolivian Bribery Scheme To Secure Tear Gas Contract

By Mike Koehler on May 27, 2021 in 2021 Enforcement Actions, Bolivia, Bravo Tactical Solutions, Bryan Berkman, DOJ Enforcement Action, FCPA Related Charges, International Defense Group, Luis Berkman, Military and Law Enforcement Products Industry, Philip Lichtenfeld, Sergio Mendez

As the saying goes – where there is smoke there is fire.

Yesterday the DOJ announced that Bryan Berkman, Luis Berkman, Philip Lichtenfeld and Sergio Mendez were criminally charged for their roles in a Bolivian bribery scheme to secure a tear gas contract.

Bryan Berkman, a U.S. citizen, is described as owning a Florida company (“Intermediary Company”) that sold tactical equipment including to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense. According to this article, the company is Bravo Tactical Solutions.

Sergio Mendez, a citizen of Bolivia, served as an official in the Bolivian Ministry of Government from 2019 – 2020.

Luis Berkman, also a U.S. citizen and Bryan’s father, is described as a “close associate” of Mendez as well as an “associate” of co-conspirator 1 (described as a high ranking official in the Bolivian Ministry of Government). According to the same article, Luis runs a Florida based company called International Defense Group.

Olympus Latin America Pays $22.8 Million In Latest FCPA Enforcement Action To Allege That Health Care Professionals Are “Foreign Officials”

By Mike Koehler on March 3, 2016 in 2016 Enforcement Actions, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Distributor Issues, DOJ Enforcement Action, FCPA Related Charges, Healthcare Providers As Foreign Officials, Medical Device Industry, Mexico, Olympus, Third Parties, Travel and Entertainment

Earlier this week, the DOJ announced (as part of a much larger enforcement action) a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act action against Olympus Latin American Inc. (OLA), a Miami-headquartered company that distributes medical imaging equipment in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America for Olympus Corporation (a Japanese company).

This post highlights the OLA enforcement action (the latest FCPA enforcement based on the theory that certain health care professionals are “foreign officials” under the FCPA) in which the DOJ charged the company in this criminal complaint with conspiring to violate the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions and violating the FCPA’s anti-bribery provisions. The charges were resolved via this deferred prosecution agreement in which OLA agreed to pay $22.8 million.

According to the charging documents, from 2006 to 2011 OLA provided approximately $3 million in “hundreds of unlawful payments” to publicly employed healthcare professionals in Brazil, Bolivia, Colombia, Argentina, Mexico, and Costa Rica to “induce the purchase of Olympus products, influence public tenders, or prevent public institutions from purchasing or converting to the technology of competitors.” According to the charging documents, OLA recognized approximately $7.5 million in profits as a result of the alleged unlawful payments.

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