3 Men Charged in Ecuadorian Bribery FCPA Scheme

Esteban Eduardo Merlo Hidaglo, a Florida resident, and Christian Patricio Pintado Garcia and Luis Lenin Maldonado Matute, both Ecuadorian citizens, were charged for their alleged roles in a bribery and money laundering scheme to get business from Ecuadorian state-owned insurance firms, DOJ announced. Charged in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, the defendants allegedly paid bribes to officials at Seguras Sucre S.A. and Seguras Rocafuerte S.A. -- the state-run insurance companies -- to retain business for themselves, an intermediary company and reinsurance clients, court documents show.

The intermediary firm also allegedly got a cut of the brokerage commission received from the insurance companies, using the funds to make the bribe payments. The defendants allegedly also conspired to launder funds from the scheme to and from Florida-based bank accounts. Merlo, Pintado and Maldonado are charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one substantive violation of the FCPA, conspiracy to commit money laundering and four counts of engaging in transactions involving criminally derived property. Each defendant faces a maximum of 60 years in prison, DOJ said. Merlo has appeared in court; the other two are at large.