2 Execs, Intermediary, & Haitian Officials Charged for FCPA Violations
On July 13, 2011, the Justice Department announced that six defendants have been charged in a superseding indictment for their alleged roles in a foreign bribery, wire fraud, and money laundering scheme involving illegal payments made to Haitian officials of a state-owned telecommunications company, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
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Cinergy & Uniplex Paid Over $1.4M to Shell Companies to Bribe Haitian Officials
The six defendants charged include: Cinergy Telecommunications Inc., a privately-held company; Washington Vasconez Cruz, President of Cinergy and Uniplex Telecommunications Inc.; Amadeus Richers, the then-director of Cinergy and Uniplex; Patrick Joseph, a former general director for Haiti Teleco; Jean Rene Duperval, a former director for Haiti Teleco; and Marguerite Grandison, former president of Telecom Consulting Services Corp; and Duperval's sister.
According to the superseding indictment, the defendants allegedly participated in the foreign bribery and money laundering scheme from December 2001 through January 2006. During this time, Cinergy and its related company, Uniplex, allegedly paid more than $1.4 million to shell companies to be used for bribes to foreign officials of Haiti's state-owned national telecommunications company, Telecommunications D'Haiti (Haiti Teleco).
Bribes to Haitian Officials Were Authorized by Company President & Director
According to court documents, Cinergy and Uniplex executed a series of contracts with Haiti Teleco that allowed the companies’ customers to place telephone calls to Haiti. The bribe payments allegedly were authorized by Washington Vasconez Cruz, the telecommunications companies’ president, and Amadeus Richers, the companies’ director, and were allegedly paid to Haitian government officials at Haiti Teleco, including Patrick Joseph and Jean Rene Duperval.
Bribes Paid to Obtain Business Advantages Such as Preferred Telecom Rates
According to the superseding indictment, the purpose of these bribes was to obtain various business advantages from the Haitian officials for Cinergy and Uniplex, including preferred telecommunications rates and credits toward sums owed. To conceal the bribe payments, the defendants allegedly used various shell companies to receive and forward the payments, including J.D. Locator Services, Fourcand Enterprises and Telecom Consulting Services.
Defendants Were Sentenced in Related Cases, Investigation is Ongoing
In July 2010, Juan Diaz was sentenced to 57 months in prison for conspiring to violate the FCPA. In May 2010, Jean Fourcand, of Fourcand Enterprises was sentenced to six months in prison for money laundering for receiving and transmitting bribe monies in the scheme. In June 2010, Robert Antoine, a former director of Haiti Teleco, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for receiving more than $1 million in bribes from Florida-based telecommunications companies. In December 2009, Duperval and Grandison were charged in related indictments for money laundering and wire fraud connected to FCPA violations.
The U.S. government's investigation is ongoing.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 01/25/11 and 08/02/10 news, 11012521 and 10080110, for BP summaries of Juan Diaz's sentence for his participation in a related conspiracy with Duperval, Grandison, and others. to violate the FCPA by paying bribes to Haitian government officials.
See ITT's Online Archives or 07/01/11 news, 11070109, for BP summary of DOJ explaining liability for FCPA violations for illegal payments made through intermediaries, and to pre- and post-acquisition and merger conduct.
See ITT’s Online Archives or 05/10/11 news, 11051032, for BP summary of DOJ detailing this “facilitation payments” exception to the FCPA anti-bribery provisions.)