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Colin Stevens, a former vice president of sales and marketing with Embraer Executive Jets, has pleaded guilty in connection with a scheme to bribe a high-level Saudi Arabian government official in 2010 in exchange for assistance in selling Embraer aircraft to the country’s national oil company. According to information released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), 61-year-old Stevens, a UK national living in the UAE, admitted to crimes including violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), committing conspiracy to violate the FCPA, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and making a false statement.
As part of his plea, Stevens admitted that he engaged in a plot to have Embraer pay bribes to a foreign official in exchange for assistance in getting an aircraft sales contract awarded to Embraer on favorable terms, as well as receiving a kickback in the scheme and then lying to law enforcement officials about that kickback. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
The guilty plea follows a deferred prosecution agreement between the airframer and the DOJ made in October 2016, with respect to an investigation that found irregular transactions occurred in four different countries in the past decade. Under this arrangement, Embraer agreed to pay a $107 million penalty related to a wider investigation by U.S. and Brazilian officials into corrupt conduct in several countries, including Saudi Arabia.
In a statement, Embraer noted the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has been conducting investigations with regard to certain individuals, and that it is not a part of, nor has it been informed of, the development of these investigations.
The airframer added that it treated the matter seriously and fully cooperated with the investigation. As events unfolded, the company said, it voluntarily expanded its scope and shared the results with the relevant authorities.
A former vice president of sales and marketing with Embraer Executive Jets has pleaded guilty to being involved a scheme to bribe a high-level Saudi Arabian government official in exchange for assistance in selling Embraer aircraft to the country’s national oil company, Saudi Aramco. According to information released by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ), 61-year-old Colin Stevens, a UK national living in the UAE, admitted to crimes including violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), committing conspiracy to violate the FCPA, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, money laundering, and making a false statement. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
The DoJ statement alleged that while the airframer was in negotiations with the oil company regarding a potential sale of aircraft, Stevens and the foreign official “devised an arrangement whereby the foreign official would guarantee that Embraer would win a contract and that the contract would involve new rather than used aircraft in exchange for approximately $1.6 million in bribe payments.”
In early 2010, Aramco awarded Embraer a contract for three new jets, valued at nearly $100 million. {{I suggest we let other people figure out if it was a result}}
The statement further alleged that Stevens arranged to try to hide the bribes as commissions to a South African company owned by one of his personal friends, who then transferred the bulk of the bribe money to an intermediary of the Saudi official, but diverted $130,000 back to Stevens. When questioned by the the FBI, Stevens said the money had been transferred to him by an executive of the South African company for the purpose oof buying real estate in connection with a potential business venture.
The guilty plea entered last month in New York follows a deferred prosecution agreement between the airframer and the DoJ made in October 2016, in which Embraer agreed to pay a $107 million penalty to the department as part of a $205 million global settlement related to a wider investigation by the U.S. DoJ, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Brazilian officials into corrupt conduct in several countries including Saudi Arabia.
According to the U.S. justice system, bribery of foreign government officials to win business is a crime, a statute that applies to any company whose stock is traded in or who does business in the U.S., along with its employees.
The investigation, has also resulted in Brazilian authorities charging 11 individuals for their alleged involvement in the airframer’s misconduct in the Dominican Republic, while Saudi Arabia has charged two individuals.
In a statement, Embraer noted the U.S. DoJ has been conducting investigations with regard to certain individuals, and that it is not a part of, nor has it been informed of, the development of these investigations.
The airframer added that it treated the matter seriously and fully cooperated with the investigation. As events unfolded, the company said, it voluntarily expanded its scope and shared the results with the relevant authorities.