Ecuadorian Businessman Pleads Guilty to FCPA Violation

An Ecuadorian businessman pleaded guilty Jan. 23 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act after he was involved in a $4.4 million bribery scheme with Ecuador’s state-owned oil company, the Justice Department said in a press release. Armengol Alfonso Cevallos Diaz worked with others to bribe officials at Empresa Pública de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (PetroEcuador) through U.S. companies and bank accounts, the agency said. Diaz helped launder the money through Miami-based shell companies, soliciting bribes from an oil services company for PetroEcuador officials, the press release said. Sentencing is scheduled for April 2, 2020.