Former Ecuadorian Comptroller General Convicted for Role in Bribery Scheme

The former comptroller general of Ecuador, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, was convicted on April 23 for his part in an international bribery and money laundering scheme, DOJ announced.

From 2010 to 2015, Polit "solicited and received over $10 million in bribe payments" from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht. He took the bribes in exchange for "removing fines and not imposing fines on Odebrecht's projects in Ecuador," also taking a bribe from an Ecuadorian businessman in exchange for helping the man with obtaining contracts with an Ecuadorian state-owned insurance firm.

Odebrecht pleaded guilty in 2016 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act for its role in the bribery scheme.

DOJ said that another member of the conspiracy, from 2010 to 2017 and at the direction of Polit, caused proceeds of the bribery scheme to "disappear" via Florida companies held in the names of "friends and associates." The proceeds were used to buy and renovate Florida real estate, DOJ said.

In all, Polit was convicted by a jury of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of concealment money laundering and two counts of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. The money laundering counts come with a maximum 20-year prison stint, while the latter counts each come with a maximum 10-year prison sentence.