Tagged: Petroecuador

Episode 314 — A Deep Dive into DOJ’s Gunvor FCPA Enforcement Action

In a recent blockbuster FCPA settlement, DOJ announced a $661 million resolution with Gunvor, one of the world’s largest commodities trading companies. DOJ’s settlement represents a “return” to its long-standing aggressive approach to FCPA enforcement. DOJ did not permit Gunvor to enter into a deferred or non-prosecution agreement. Instead, DOJ required Gunvor to plead guilty to one count of FCPA conspiracy. Gunvor entered into a...

Gunvor’s Blockbuster FCPA Settlement: Lessons Learned and Trends (Part III of III)

The Department of Justice’s blockbuster FCPA settlement with Gunvor restores the credibility of DOJ’s pronouncements of DOJ’s commitment to aggressive FCPA enforcement.  While I have questioned DOJ’s commitment to its corporate enforcement policy in recent high-profile settlements (ABB and SAP, in particular), DOJ’s Gunvor settlement of $661 million stands as the ninth largest FCPA settlement in history.  DOJ’s settlement is proportionate to the misconduct and...

Gunvor’s Bribery Schemes — Third-Parties, Shell Companies and Evasion of Controls (Part II of III)

Gunvor’s bribery scheme is not very surprising nor ingenious.  After all, a number of energy trading companies have been prosecuted for bribery over the years, including Glencore, Vitol, Freepoint.  Numerous individuals have been prosecuted, convicted and some have cooperated.  The global energy trading market presents numerous risk factors — large and valuable energy products (oil, gas etc.) are controlled by foreign-owned companies.  All of these...

Gunvor Falls Under FCPA Axe and Agrees to Pay Criminal Penalty of $661 Million (Part I of III)

You have to give the Justice Department credit — after two slow enforcement years, DOJ is starting off 2024 with a relative “bang;” first, DOJ reached a large settlement with SAP in January, and now, DOJ has reached a blockbuster settlement with Gunvor S.A. for $661 million. Gunvor is one of the world’s largest commodities trading companies.  DOJ’s settlement represents a “return” to its long-standing...

Gunvor Group Former Employee Pleads Guilty to FCPA Scheme to Pay Bribes to Ecuadoran Government Officials

Raymond Kohut, a 68-year old Canadian citizen, a former employee of Swiss commodities trader, Gunvor Group, Ltd., pleaded guilty to paying $22 million in bribes to Ecuadoran government officials at state-owned oil company, PetroEcuador. Kohut pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy before a federal judge in Brooklyn, New York, the Eastern District of New York.  Kohut agreed to forfeit $2.2 million. Gunvor...

Episode 163 — Review of Recent FCPA Cases Involving Petroecuador

In two recent FCPA enforcement actions, the Justice Department focused on bribery schemes involving Petroecuador government officials.  Petroecuador is the state-owned oil and gas company in Ecuador. In the first, DOJ announced an indictment against Javier Aguilar, an oil trader at Vitol, an energy and commodity trading company, for his role in a five-year international bribery and money laundering scheme carried out in Ecuador. In the...

Sargeant Marine Pleads Guilty to FCPA Charges and Agrees to Pay $16.6 Million

The Justice Department announced a guilty plea to FCPA charges by Sargeant Marine, Inc., a privately-owned company, based in Boca Raton, Florida.  Sargeant Marine, an asphalt company, plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and agreed to pay a fine of $16.6 million for bribery schemes in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador.  Between 2010 and 2018, Sargeant Marine...

Justice Department Indicts Vitol Oil Trader in International Bribery and Money Laundering Conspiracy for Corrupt Payments to Ecuadoran Officials

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York returned an indictment against Javier Aguilar, an oil trader at Vitol, an energy and commodity trading company, for his role in a five-year international bribery and money laundering scheme carried out in Ecuador. Between approximately 2015 and July 2020, Aguilar and others participated in a conspiracy to pay and conceal bribes to Ecuadoran government...