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Business Crimes Hotline
New York
Mercator Corporation Enters Guilty Plea for FCPA Violation
On Aug. 6, Judge William H. Pauley of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York accepted the guilty pleas of merchant bank Mercator Corporation, and the company's chairman, James H. Giffen. Mercator served as an adviser to the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan on a number of oil and gas industry transactions. Before Judge Pauley, Mercator pled guilty to a single count violation of the FCPA, based on the company's unlawful payment to a senior Kazakh government official, in the form of two snowmobiles that were purchased in November 1999. The company faces a maximum criminal fine consisting of the greater of $2 million or twice its gain or the loss from its violation.
Giffen entered his single count guilty plea pursuant to his failure to disclose, on his 1996 individual income tax return, that he controlled a Swiss bank account. The account was kept in the name of a British Virgin Islands corporations controlled by Giffen, Condor Capital Management. Giffen's charge carries a maximum one-year prison sentence along with a maximum fine of $25,000.
Washington, DC
Northwest Airlines LLC Agrees to Resolve Air Cargo Price-Fixing Charge
On July 30, the DOJ announced that its ongoing investigation into the air transportation industry had yielded a guilty plea agreement by Northwest Airlines LLC, based on the company's role, via the now-defunct Northwest Airlines Cargo, in a price-fixing conspiracy within the industry. The company agreed to pay a $38 million criminal fine in connection with the single-count felony charge that was filed against it in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. In its filing, the government stated that, during a period from at least July 2004 through at least February 2006, Northwest Airlines LLC engaged in a conspiracy to fix customers' international air cargo shipment rates, both within the United States and abroad. As part of its agreement, Northwest Airlines LLC also agreed to cooperate with the DOJ in the continuing investigation.
While Northwest Airlines LLC's plea agreement remains subject to judicial approval, the charge raises the total number of airlines pleading guilty, or agreeing to plead guilty, in connection with the DOJ investigation, to 16. According to the government, based on its price-fixing investigation, criminal fines in excess of $1.6 billion have been levied. Additionally, four industry executives have received prison sentences, while charges remain pending against a fifth individual.
Mercator Corporation Enters Guilty Plea for FCPA Violation
On Aug. 6, Judge
Giffen entered his single count guilty plea pursuant to his failure to disclose, on his 1996 individual income tax return, that he controlled a Swiss bank account. The account was kept in the name of a British Virgin Islands corporations controlled by Giffen, Condor Capital Management. Giffen's charge carries a maximum one-year prison sentence along with a maximum fine of $25,000.
Washington, DC
Northwest Airlines LLC Agrees to Resolve Air Cargo Price-Fixing Charge
On July 30, the DOJ announced that its ongoing investigation into the air transportation industry had yielded a guilty plea agreement by Northwest Airlines LLC, based on the company's role, via the now-defunct Northwest Airlines Cargo, in a price-fixing conspiracy within the industry. The company agreed to pay a $38 million criminal fine in connection with the single-count felony charge that was filed against it in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. In its filing, the government stated that, during a period from at least July 2004 through at least February 2006, Northwest Airlines LLC engaged in a conspiracy to fix customers' international air cargo shipment rates, both within the United States and abroad. As part of its agreement, Northwest Airlines LLC also agreed to cooperate with the DOJ in the continuing investigation.
While Northwest Airlines LLC's plea agreement remains subject to judicial approval, the charge raises the total number of airlines pleading guilty, or agreeing to plead guilty, in connection with the DOJ investigation, to 16. According to the government, based on its price-fixing investigation, criminal fines in excess of $1.6 billion have been levied. Additionally, four industry executives have received prison sentences, while charges remain pending against a fifth individual.
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