In connection with last week’s net $105.5 million Foreign Corrupt Practices Act enforcement action against Keppel Offshore & Marine (see here for the prior post), the DOJ noted that it “also unsealed charges … against a former senior member of KOM’s legal department, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA on Aug. 29, 2017 in the Eastern District of New York.”
That individual is Jeffrey Chow, a U.S. citizen and Tulane educated lawyer, who had various positions in the legal department of KOM “including Administrative Manager, General Manager and Director, from at least in or about and between 1990 and 2017.” (See here for the DOJ information).
The conduct alleged in the Chow information is the same Brazil bribery schemes alleged in the KOM enforcement action and the DOJ alleges:
“To facilitate the payment of those bribes and to conceal the true nature and purpose of the payments, in accordance with the established practices at [KOM] Chow and other employees at [KOM] created and executed false agreements on behalf of [KOM] with consulting companies controlled in whole or in part by [KOM Agent]. These agreements falsely represented that payments were made to [KOM Agent] for his assistance and support in discussions and negotiations with prospective customers when, in fact, portions of these payments were being paid as bribes. Certain of these agreements also falsely represented that [KOM Agent] was abiding by anti-bribery laws and was not making improper payments.”
The DOJ alleges that Chow:
- “coordinated the signing, in Houston, Texas, of a marketing and sales representation agreement between [KOM and KOM Agent];”
- “executed an agreement … with [KOM Agent]”;
- “executed a marketing, consulting and services agreement [with KOM Agent]; and
- “sent an e-mail to an executive of [KOM] discussing how to structure commission payments that [KOM] would make to [KOM Agent]”
