Interesting Issues To Ponder
Several notable Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement actions have involved conduct in Haiti including U.S. v. Kay and U.S. v. Esquenazi.
The Esquenazi enforcement action concerned the telecommunications sector in Haiti.
Reading the news with “FCPA goggles” on is – for me – an occupational hazard of sorts.
So it was with a recent Wall Street Journal article titled “Amid Haiti’s Mayhem, Phones Keep Working.”
Jury Convicts Baptiste And Boncy
As highlighted in this previous post, in 2017 (in connection with an undercover string) the DOJ unsealed criminal charges against Joseph Baptiste (a retired U.S. Army Colonel, practicing dentist, and founder / president of a Maryland-based Haitian focused non-profit) for alleged Haitian bribery.
As highlighted in this previous post, in 2018 the DOJ added criminal charges against Roger Boncy in connection with the same core conduct.
Unlike most individual FCPA defendants, Baptiste and Boncy put the DOJ to its burden of proof. As indicated in this recent DOJ release after a two-week jury trial, a federal jury in Boston found Baptiste guilty of one count of violating the Travel Act and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and Boncy guilty of one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act.
DOJ Adds Additional Defendant To Haiti Port Project Case
As highlighted here, in August 2017 (in connection with an undercover sting) the DOJ announced criminal charges against Joseph Baptiste (a retired U.S. Army Colonel, practicing dentist, and former founder/president of a Maryland-based Haitian focused non-profit) “for his alleged role in a foreign bribery and money laundering scheme in connection with a planned $84 million port development project in Haiti” in an area known as Mole Saint Nicolas.
With Baptiste’s trial set to begin in early December, the DOJ returned to the same alleged core conduct by announcing additional criminal charges against Roger Boncy (pictured – 74, a dual U.S. and Haitian citizen who resides in Madrid, Spain).
You Don’t Need To Look Far For The Location Resulting In Several Individual FCPA Enforcement Actions
This prior post highlighted the DOJ’s recently announced Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Joseph Baptiste for alleged bribery in Haiti.
The Baptiste enforcement action is just the latest in a long list of FCPA enforcement actions (all of the criminal actions were against individuals associated with small, privately-held companies) alleging improper business conduct in Haiti (a country located a short distance from the U.S.).
What makes this unusual is that Haiti attracts (relatively speaking compared to many other countries) little business activity by those subject to the FCPA. But then again, perhaps one of the reasons for this lack of business activity is the FCPA itself. As highlighted in this 2010 post, some called for the FCPA not to apply to doing business in Haiti arguing: “one of the best way to help Haiti” is to “pass a law stating that the FCPA does not apply to dealings in Haiti. As it stands right now, U.S. businesses are unwilling to take on this legal risk and the result is similar to an embargo. You can’t do business in Haiti without paying bribes.”
In Connection With Undercover Sting, DOJ Unseals Criminal Charges Against Joseph Baptiste For Alleged Haitian Bribery
Yesterday, the DOJ announced that Joseph Baptiste (pictured – a retired U.S. Army Colonel, practicing dentist, and former founder/president of a Maryland-based Haitian focused non-profit) was criminally charged “for his alleged role in a foreign bribery and money laundering scheme in connection with a planned $84 million port development project in Haiti.”
According to this FBI Agent affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, during the time period relevant to the complaint Baptiste served as the president of an entity headquartered in Maryland that purported to be a non-profit organization with the stated mission of helping the impoverished in Haiti” and further served as a member of the board of directors of Company A, an LLC organized under Delaware Law. According to the affidavit, Company A’s mission was to promote a port development project in an area of Haiti known as Moles Saint Nicolas.