Indian-origin executive among 22 held in FBI sting operation

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Jan (PTI) An Indian-origin British national is
among 22 executives of military and law enforcement suppliers
arrested by FBI on charges of attempting to bribe the Defence
Minister of an African country in what is being described as
the largest ever corruption expose of its kind in the US.
43-year-old Pankesh Patel, Managing Director of a UK firm
that acts as a sales agent for companies in law enforcement
and military products industries, and two more Britons --
David Painter (56) and Lee Wares (43) -- were among 22 people
arrested, the US Department of Justice said.
Wares is the Chairman and Director of a British company
that markets armoured vehicles.
Of the 22 executives, 21 were arrested from Las Vegas on
Monday. The 22nd person was arrested in Miami. None of the
people arrested are from Las Vegas, but all were in town for
the 2010 Shooting, Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show, which began
at Sands Expo and Convention Centre yesterday, Fox News said.
The indictments unsealed before a US court on Tuesday
allege that these arrested individuals engaged in a scheme to
pay bribes to the Minister of Defence for a country in Africa.
The name of the country has not been revealed.
The scheme was part of the undercover operation, with no
actual involvement from any Defence Minister. The defendants
allegedly agreed to pay 20 per cent "commission" to a sales
agent who they believed represented Defence Minister of an
African state in order to win a portion of a USD 15 million
deal to outfit the country's presidential guard. In reality,
the "sales agent" was an undercover FBI agent.

"The defendants were told that half of that 'commission'
would be paid directly to the Minister of Defence. The
defendants allegedly agreed to create two price quotations in
connection with the deals, with one quote representing the
true cost of the goods and the second quote representing the
true cost, plus the 20 per cent 'commission'.
"The defendants also allegedly agreed to engage in a
small 'test' deal to show the Minister of Defence that he
would personally receive the 10 per cent bribe," the Justice
Department said in a statement.
The unsealed 16 indictments represent the largest single
investigation and prosecution against individuals in the
history of Department of Justice's enforcement of the Foreign
Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), a law that prohibits US persons
and companies, and foreign persons and firms acting in the
United States, from bribing foreign government officials for
the purpose of obtaining or retaining business.
The maximum prison sentence for the conspiracy count and
for each FCPA count is five years. The maximum sentence for
the money laundering conspiracy charge is 20 years in prison.
"This ongoing investigation is the first large-scale use
of undercover law enforcement techniques to uncover FCPA
violations and the largest action ever undertaken by the
Justice Department against individuals for FCPA violations,"
Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer said.
"The fight to erase foreign bribery from the corporate
playbook will not be won overnight, but these actions are a
turning point. From now on, would-be FCPA violators should
stop and ponder whether the person they are trying to bribe
might really be a federal agent," Breuer said. PTI LKJ
AHM