In February 2023, the DOJ announced that Glenn Oztemel (previously employed by Arcadia Fuels Ltd. and Freepoint Commodities LLC) and Eduardo Innecco (an agent for the companies) were charged with FCPA and related offenses for an alleged Brazil bribery scheme. (See here for the prior post).
FCPA trials are rare. In fact, in the FCPA’s approximate 47 years there is believed to only been 22 trials.
The 23rd trial was U.S. v. Oztemel which began in Bridgeport, Connecticut earlier this month.
Yesterday, the DOJ announced that Oztemel was found guilty of FCPA and related offenses.
The DOJ’s release states:
“According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Glenn Oztemel, 65, of Westport, Connecticut, paid bribes to officials of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), the Brazilian state-owned oil and gas company, to obtain lucrative contracts for Arcadia Fuels Ltd. (Arcadia) and Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint).
The trial evidence showed that, between 2010 and 2018, Oztemel worked as a senior oil and gas trader — first at Arcadia and then at Freepoint. With the assistance of others, Oztemel paid and caused the payment of bribes to Petrobras officials for their assistance in helping Arcadia and Freepoint to obtain and retain fuel oil contracts with Petrobras and by providing Oztemel and others with confidential information regarding Petrobras’ fuel oil business. Oztemel and his co-conspirators caused Arcadia and Freepoint to make corrupt payments — disguised as purported consulting fees and commissions — to a third party intermediary and agent, Eduardo Innecco, 74, knowing that Innecco would pay a portion of those funds to Brazilian officials, including to Houston-based Petrobras trader Rodrigo Berkowitz.
To conceal the scheme, Oztemel, Innecco, and their co-conspirators used coded language like “breakfast” and “freight deviation” to refer to the bribes and communicated using personal email accounts, encrypted messaging applications, disposable phones, and fictitious names like “Spencer Kazisnaf” and “Nikita Maksimov.” In total, Oztemel paid more than $1,000,000 in bribes, which were split between Berkowitz and other Petrobras officials in Brazil. The bribe money moved from the trading companies to shell companies around the world controlled by Innecco, who then made payments to a bank account in Uruguay controlled by Berkowitz’s father.
The jury convicted Oztemel of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of violating the FCPA, and two counts of money laundering.”
In the DOJ release, Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division stated:
“Glenn Oztemel paid and laundered more than $1 million in bribes to employees of Brazil’s state-owned oil and gas company to obtain lucrative contracts for his commodities-trading companies in Connecticut. Bribing public officials to win business undermines the rule of law and creates unfair competition. [This] verdict reaffirms the Criminal Division’s commitment to combatting foreign corruption that violates U.S. law.”
U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery for the District of Connecticut stated:
“Bribery and money laundering are well-established federal crimes. This conviction serves as another warning to anyone involved in the financial industry who seeks to gain an unfair advantage and illegally profit, both here in the U.S. and abroad. This office and our law enforcement partners will continue to keep a watchful eye to ensure that representatives from U.S. businesses operating overseas comply with our nation’s laws.”
Assistant Director in Charge Akil Davis of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office stated:
“Individuals and companies who collude to thwart free market competition through bribery ultimately erode public trust in the marketplace. [This] conviction demonstrates the commitment of the FBI and our partners to investigate anti-competitive behavior and hold accountable those who try to cheat the system for their own benefit and profit.”
As noted in the DOJ’s release, “in May 2023, Innecco was arrested in France and his extradition to the United States is pending.”
As highlighted in this prior post, Gary Oztemel (Glenn’s brother and the owner and president of Oil Trade & Transport S.A. and the owner of Petro Trade Services Inc.) was also criminally charged in connection with the same bribery scheme. In 2024, Gary Oztemel pleaded guilty to money laundering.
In December 2023, Freepoint Commodities resolved an FCPA enforcement actions concerning the same Brazil bribery scheme. (See here for the prior post).
