CFTC Announces First Whistleblower Award To A Foreign Whistleblower

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced an award of over $70,000 to a whistleblower who significantly contributed to an ongoing CFTC investigation and led the CFTC to a successful settlement.  The award is the first made by the CFTC’s Whistleblower Program to a whistleblower living in a foreign country and the sixth award to a whistleblower who provided valuable information about violations of the Commodity Exchange Act (CEA).

The award demonstrates the international reach of the Whistleblower Program, underscoring that any person worldwide who has information about potential violations of the CEA can become a whistleblower by simply submitting a tip online...

James McDonald, Director of the CFTC’s Division of Enforcement, stated:  “This award is significant because it signals to whistleblowers around the world that anyone with information about potential violations of the Commodity Exchange Act can participate in the CFTC’s Whistleblower Program.  The award also serves as another example of the increasing significance of whistleblowers in our enforcement program, a trend I expect to continue going forward.”

This award is the second award made by the CFTC under the newly enhanced Whistleblower Rules, which bolstered anti-retaliation protections for whistleblowers and improved the process for claims review (see the earlier such award: CFTC press release 7753-18, July 12, 2018, CFTC Announces Its Largest Ever Whistleblower Award of Approximately $30 Million).  read more »

How Mining Tycoons Are Trying to Foil a Big U.K. Bribery Probe

A trio of Kazakh oligarchs accuse their London lawyer of conspiring with Britain’s top cop

It’s a faint echo of the defense being floated by targets of the Mueller probe in the U.S.—an unaccountable circle of bureaucrats manipulating the system to their own ends.

But in London, it’s the last ditch effort by a trio of Kazakh oligarchs to derail the U.K.’s biggest bribery investigation.

The mining tycoons behind Eurasian Natural Resources Corp., the former FTSE 100 company suspected of paying bribes to buy mines in Kazakhstan and Africa, say their own lawyer conspired with Britain’s top cop to incriminate them so he could fleece them for millions of pounds. read more »

Former Business Partner of U.S. Military Contractor Pleads Guilty to Bribery Scheme Related to Contracts in Support of Iraq War

A former business partner of a U.S. military contractor pleaded guilty today to one count of bribery for his role in a years-long scheme to bribe U.S. Army contracting officials stationed at a U.S. military base in Kuwait, announced Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski

According to the plea filed today in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Finbar Charles, 62, a citizen of Saint Lucia most recently residing in Baguio City, Philippines, was a business partner of a former U.S. military contractor, Terry Hall.  As Hall’s business partner, Charles facilitated Hall and others in providing millions of dollars in bribes in approximately 2005 to 2007 to various U.S. Army officials in exchange for preferential treatment for Hall’s companies in connection with Department of Defense (DOD) contracts to deliver bottled water and construct security fencing to support U.S. troops stationed in Kuwait and Iraq. read more »

Commodity Trading Firm to Pay $3.4 Million Penalty for Attempted Manipulation of Agricultural Markets

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today issued an Order filing and settling charges against Lansing Trade Group, LLC (Lansing), a commodity merchandising firm with headquarters in Overland Park, Kansas, for the attempted manipulation of the price of certain wheat futures and options contracts that were traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and for aiding and abetting the attempted manipulation of the cash price for yellow corn. read more »

Former Venezuelan Official Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Charge in Connection with Bribery Scheme

A dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen pleaded guilty today for his role in a scheme to bribe officials of Venezuela’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA), and for his role in an international money laundering scheme involving the bribes paid by the owners of U.S.-based companies to Venezuelan government officials to corruptly secure energy contracts and payment priority on outstanding invoices.

Luis Carlos De Leon-Perez (De Leon), 42, a citizen of the United States and Venezuela previously residing in Spain, pleaded guilty today in federal court in Houston to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.  read more »