The Billion Dollar Man

Jack Stanley: The most important cooperating witness in FCPA history. There's never been a cooperating witness in FCPA history quite like him. A former corporate top gun, a global player, a captain of industry who once led the dark side and now sits with the prosecution, helping nail industry giants and along the way putting more than a billion dollars -- a billion dollars -- into the U.S. Treasury.

Make that $1.28 billion and counting. That's how much the DOJ and SEC have recovered in penalties and disgorgement so far from the TSKJ consortium members: $579 million from KBR / Halliburton, $365 million from Snamprogetti / ENI, and $338 million from Technip, with more to come from the final JV partner, JGC.

The man who helped make it all possible is Albert "Jack" Stanley. He was chairman and CEO of KBR and headed the TSKJ consortium. For ten years starting in 1995, he organized about $180 million in bribes to Nigerian leaders in return for $6 billion in contracts.

But in 2008 his life came crashing down. After pleading guilty to conspiring to violate the FCPA, he was sentenced to seven years in prison. That sentence, however, is subject to court review based on his cooperation in related prosecutions. Is he cooperating? Big time.

He knows dates, places, times, amounts, and names. He knows offshore companies and bank accounts, circuitous money flows, and black-bag exchanges. He's free on bail and he's talking. As each TSKJ member falls before the DOJ and SEC, the details of what they did pile up, and Stanley's shadow is always there.

So how much of his seven-year sentence will the 66-year-old Stanley serve? Our guess is not much. He is, after all, the billion dollar man. 

JGC Confirms DOJ Investigation

The fourth member of the TSKJ consortium -- JGC Corporation of Japan -- and the only one that hasn't settled Foreign Corrupt Practices Act charges with the U.S. government, disclosed in its latest annual report that it's in talks with the DOJ "about a potential resolution" of FCPA-related charges.

The company did not say how much it has reserved, if anything, for a settlement with the DOJ.

Last week, Snamprogetti and its parent company ENI of Italy agreed to pay $365 million to resolve FCPA-related charges for Snamprogetti's role in the TSKJ joint venture. The financial penalties included a $240 million criminal fine to the DOJ and $125 million in disgorgement to the SEC.

Two weeks ago, Paris-based TSKJ member Technip resolved FCPA-related charges with the DOJ and SEC for $338 million --  a $240 million criminal penalty and $98 million in disgorgement.

And in February 2009, consortium leader KBR and its former parent Halliburton paid $579 million to settle FCPA-related charges, including a $402 million criminal penalty and $177 million in disgorgement.

Technip, Snamprogetti, KBR, and JGC won contracts through the TSKJ joint venture from Nigeria LNG Ltd. between 1995 and 2004 to design and build LNG facilities on Bonny Island. The contracts were worth more than $6 billion. The joint venture bribed Nigerian government officials to win the work, including "top-level executive branch officials." The DOJ alleges TSKJ paid about $132 million to a Gibraltar corporation controlled by London lawyer Jeffrey Tesler and more than $50 million to a Japanese trading company, intending to use some of the money as bribes.

JGC, formerly Japan Gasoline Co., Ltd., was founded in 1928. It specializes in engineering projects related to refining and natural gas processing. Its shares trade in Tokyo but not the U.S., making it the only TSKJ partner that's not an "issuer" and not subject to the FCPA's books and records and internal controls provisions.

JGC did not disclose whether it is under investigation in Japan for the Nigeria bribery.

_________________________

Here's the complete disclosure from JGC's annual report for the year ended March 31, 2010. It was released on May 10, a month before the Technip and Snamprogetti settlements. JGC provided the English translation:

In or around 1995, JGC joined a consortium formed by M.W. Kellogg Company (a U.S. company that later became KBR), Technip (a French company), and Snamprogetti (an Italian company) in order to i) bid for the construction of liquefied natural gas plant in Bonny Island, Nigeria (“Project”) and ii) implement the Project if awarded. The consortium was called “TSJK”. TSKJ was awarded the contract for the first staged of the Project (trains 1 & 2) in 1995, and thereafter up to 2004 three additional contracts to build additional 4 trains.
               
In or around 2002, French authority initiated investigations into TSKJ after allegations that in relation to the Project bribery payments were made to Nigerian government officials, and, in 2004, U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) and Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) initiated investigations in respect of the alleged breach of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
               
As publicly reported, in 2009, KBR reached settlements with DOJ and SEC as a result of the aforesaid investigations. Technip and ENI (the parent company of Snamprogetti) announced in their recent disclosure that they have created accounting reserves or a potential settlement of the U.S. investigation.
               
We hereby report that DOJ has been in contact with JGC regarding their investigation of the TSKJ matter and JGC and DOJ are engaged in discussions about a potential resolution of that investigation relating to JGC.
               
Under the current circumstances, the impact of the ongoing discussions with DOJ on JGC’s operations cannot be estimated.

_____________________

Special thanks to a reader in the U.S. who provided the research for this post.

Snamprogetti, ENI In $365 Million Settlement

Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. and its parent company ENI S.p.A of Italy will pay $365 million to resolve FCPA-related charges for Snamprogetti's role in the TSKJ-Nigeria joint venture.

Dutch-based Snamprogetti was charged by the DOJ in a criminal information with one count of conspiracy and one count of aiding and abetting violations of the FCPA. It will pay a $240 million criminal penalty.

Snamprogetti and ENI also entered into a two-year deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ. The agreement doesn't require appointment of a compliance monitor.

To resolve the SEC's charges that Snamprogetti and ENI violated the anti-bribery and recordkeeping and internal controls provisions in Sections 30A and 13(b)(5) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and Rule 13b2-1, the companies are jointly and severally liable to pay $125 million in disgorgement.

Snamprogetti, Kellogg Brown & Root Inc. (KBR), Technip S.A., and JGC of Japan were part of a four-company joint venture called TSKJ. It won four contracts from Nigeria LNG Ltd. between 1995 and 2004 to build LNG facilities on Bonny Island. The contracts were worth more than $6 billion.

Snamprogetti authorized the joint venture to hire two agents, London-lawyer Jeffrey Tesler and a Japanese trading company, to pay bribes to Nigerian government officials, including "top-level executive branch officials," to help win the Bonny Island contracts. The DOJ charged that TSKJ paid about $132 million to a Gibraltar corporation controlled by Tesler and more than $50 million to the Japanese trading company. Some of the money, prosecutors alleged, was intended to be used as bribes.

Ten days ago, Paris-based Technip resolved FCPA-related charges with the DOJ and SEC for $338 million --  a $240 million criminal penalty and $98 million in disgorgement.

In February 2009, KBR and its former parent Halliburton paid $579 million to settle FCPA-related charges, including a $402 million criminal penalty and $177 million in disgorgement.

KBR's former boss Jack Stanley pleaded guilty in September 2008 to conspiring to violate the FCPA. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. His sentence is subject to court review based on his cooperation in the related prosecutions.

Jeffrey Tesler and Wojciech Chodan, both U.K. citizens, were indicted in February 2009 by a federal grand jury in Houston. They were charged with helping KBR and its partners arrange the bribes to the Nigerian officials. Earlier this year, judges in London ruled that both should be extradited to the U.S. to face trial. Their appeals could take up to a year.

In March this year, ENI disclosed a provision for €250 million, "reflecting the estimated cost of resolution" with U.S. prosecutors for the Nigeria bribe case.

With today's settlement, the DOJ and SEC said $1.28 billion has been assessed in penalties for the TSKJ bribery.

View the DOJ's July 7, 2010 release here.

Download the July 7, 2010 criminal information in U.S. v. Snamprogetti Netherlands B.V. here.

Download Snamprogetti's July 7, 2010 deferred prosecution agreement here.

View SEC Litigation Release No. 21588 and Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 3149 (both dated July 7, 2010) in Securities and Exchange Commission v. ENI, S.p.A. and Snamprogetti Netherlands, B.V., Case No. 4:10-cv-02424, S.D. Tex (Houston) here.

Enforcement Report For Q2 '10

The first quarter of 2010 was the busiest ever for FCPA-related enforcement. This past quarter was one of the quietest for new enforcement actions, with just one from the DOJ and three from the SEC.

There were some sentencings -- including the longest prison term ever for an FCPA-related offense -- a few sentencing delays, a guilty plea, and some odds and ends. But during most of the quarter the DOJ was MIA and the SEC barely popped its head out.

Here's what happened:

DOJ / SEC Enforcement Actions

Bobby J. Elkin, Jr., Baxter J. Myers, Thomas G. Reynolds, and Tommy L. Williams (April 29) The SEC brought a civil enforcement action against the former employees of Dimon, Inc., now Alliance One International, Inc. Defendants Myers and Reynolds agreed to pay civil penalties of $40,000 each. All four defendants also consented to the entry of final judgments permanently enjoining them from violating the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA (Section 30A of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) and aiding and abetting violations of Sections 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B).

Technip S.A. (June 28) The Paris-based engineering and construction firm resolved FCPA-related charges resulting from bribes to Nigerian officials through the KBR-related TSKJ joint venture. It agreed to pay the DOJ a $240 million criminal penalty. It also settled a civil complaint filed by the SEC by disgorging $98 million in profits. It was charged in a two-count criminal information with one count of conspiracy and one count of violating the FCPA. Its two-year deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ requires Technip to retain an independent compliance monitor and cooperate in ongoing investigations.

Veraz Networks, Inc. (June 29) paid $300,000 to settle charges brought by the SEC that it violated the books and records and internal controls provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by making illegal payments to foreign officials in China and Vietnam.

Sentenced

Charles Paul Edward Jumet (April 19), 53, was sentenced to 87 months in prison and fined $15,000. Prosecutors said it's the longest sentence ever in an FCPA-related case. He pleaded guilty in November 2009 to being part of a decade-long bribery conspiracy in Panama. A two-count criminal information charged him with conspiring to violate the FCPA and giving a false statement to the FBI about how he paid some of the bribe money.

Robert Antoine (June 2), 62, of Miami and Haiti, a former employee of Haiti’s state-owned national telecommunications company, was sentenced to 48 months in prison for being part of a bribery and money-laundering scheme. He pleaded guilty in March this year to conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was also ordered by a federal judge in Miami to pay $1,852,209 in restitution and to forfeit $1,580,771, and serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.

John Webster Warwick (June 25), 64, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to former Panamanian government officials to secure maritime contracts. He also received two years of supervised release following his prison term and forfeited $331,000 in proceeds of the crime. The DOJ did not explain why his sentence was five years shorter than his co-defendant, Charles Jumet (see above).

Guilty Plea

Ousama M. Naaman (June 25), 61, a dual citizen of Canada and Lebanon, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Innospec's former agent in Iraq was charged in a June 24, 2010 superseding information with engaging in an eight-year conspiracy to defraud the United Nations oil-for-food program and bribing Iraqi officials. No sentencing date was set.

Extradition

Wojciech Chodan (April 21), 71, a U.K. citizen, was ordered extradited from Britain to the U.S. by a London court. He was indicted in February 2009 by a federal grand jury in Houston for helping KBR and its partners bribe Nigerian officials. His fellow countryman Jeffery Tesler, a London lawyer indicted at the same time, also lost his extradition hearing in March this year. With appeals, their extraditions may not be final for at least a year.

Sentencing Delays

Gerald and Patricia Green (April 29 and June 7) Their sentencing was delayed and then removed from the court's calendar. The judge in Los Angeles federal court is examining evidence about Mr. Green's medical condition and sentences in similar cases.

Albert "Jack" Stanley (mid June), 66, had final sentencing delayed until at least September 23, 2010. The former chairman and CEO of KBR pleaded guilty in September 2008 to a two-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and to commit mail and wire fraud. He's free on unsecured bail of $100,000 pending final sentencing, which has been rescheduled a half dozen times. He was sentenced to 84 months in prison and a restitution payment of $10.8 million. The jail term is subject to review based on his cooperation with the government in related prosecutions (see Chodan and Tesler above).

Intervention

Sojitz (May 27) The DOJ intervened in the second civil suit brought by Aluminium Bahrain BSC -- known as Alba -- against a raw material supplier and broker. It asked for a stay in Alba's suit against Japanese trading company Sojitz Corp. More than two years ago, the Justice Department obtained a stay in Alba's civil suit against Alcoa, Inc. The DOJ said discovery in the cases could interfere with the government's own investigation into potential criminal wrongdoing including possible violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act by Alcoa, Sojitz and other parties.

New Charging Document

Shot-show prosecution (April 19) The government filed a superseding indictment in the prosecution of the 22 shot-show defendants, charging them under a consolidated grand jury indictment with 44 counts, including conspiracy to violate the FCPA, substantive FCPA offenses, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and aiding and abetting.

In the Pipeline

Panalpina (April 29) The Swiss logistics giant said it expects settlement "in the near future" with the DOJ and SEC of FCPA-related charges. The case dates back to at least early February 2007. The DOJ noted then in connection with Vetco's FCPA settlement that bribes in Nigeria "were paid through a major international freight forwarding and customs clearance company to employees of the Nigerian Customs Service . . .”

Civil Suit  Private parties have no right of action under the FCPA. Only the DOJ and SEC can enforce it. Plaintiffs bring FCPA-related claims under RICO (18 U.S.C. § 1962(c)), conspiracy to violate RICO (18 U.S.C. § 1962(d)), fraud, civil conspiracy, breach of fiduciary duties, and others.

Parker Drilling's directors (early June) were sued in a derivative action in Harris County, Texas after the company's detailed disclosure about a DOJ / SEC investigation of compliance problems in Nigeria and Kazakhstan.

Technip in $338 Million KBR - Related Settlement

Paris-based Technip S.A., an engineering and construction firm that's part of the oil and gas services industry, has resolved FCPA-related charges with the DOJ. It agreed to pay a $240 million criminal penalty and enter into a deferred prosecution agreement. It also settled a civil complaint filed by the SEC by paying $98 million in disgorgement of profits.

Technip, Kellogg Brown & Root (KBR), ENI of Italy, and JGC of Japan were equal partners in the TSKJ joint venture. The JV operated through three special purpose corporations formed and based in Madeira, Portugal. Between 1995 and 2004, the joint venture won contracts worth $6 billion to build massive LNG facilities on Nigeria's Bonny Island.

The DOJ said Technip authorized the joint venture to hire two agents -- London lawyer Jeffrey Tesler and a Japanese trading company -- to pay bribes to a range of Nigerian government officials. A senior executive of Technip, with KBR’s former CEO Albert "Jack" Stanley and others, met with top-level Nigerian officials "in the executive branch" to work out the logistics of the bribery. The joint venture, according to the U.S. agencies,  paid about "$132 million to a Gibraltar corporation controlled by Tesler and more than $50 million to the Japanese trading company.

Technip was charged in a two-count criminal information with one count of conspiracy and one count of violating the FCPA. The case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The two-year deferred prosecution agreement requires Technip to retain an independent compliance monitor and cooperate in ongoing investigations.

In February 2009, Houston-based global engineering firm KBR pleaded guilty to a five-count criminal information, with one conspiracy count and four substantive counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, for its role in the TSKJ joint venture. And with its former parent, Halliburton, it settled civil charges with the SEC. KBR's criminal fine was $402 million and with Halliburton it agreed to pay the SEC $177 million in disgorgement.

KBR's former boss Jack Stanley pleaded guilty in September 2008 to conspiring to violate the FCPA. He was sentenced to seven years in prison. His sentence is subject to court review based on his cooperation in the related prosecutions.

Jeffrey Tesler and Wojciech Chodan, both U.K. citizens, were indicted in February 2009 by a federal grand jury in Houston. They were charged with helping KBR and its partners arrange the bribes to the Nigerian officials. Earlier this year, judges in London ruled that both should be extradited to the U.S. to face trial. Their appeals could take up to a year.

Technip said in February this year it had reserved €245 million for an exceptional charge related to a potential settlement of Foreign Corrupt Practices Act offenses with the Justice Department and Securities and Exchange Commission for its role in the TSKJ joint venture. A month later, Italy's ENI disclosed a provision for €250 million, "reflecting the estimated cost of resolution" with U.S. prosecutors for the Nigeria bribe case. ENI's settlement is still pending.

Technip’s American Depository Shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange from 2001 until 2007.

The DOJ said that with Technip's settlement, "a total of $917 million in criminal and civil penalties have been obtained to date as a result of the ongoing Department of Justice and SEC investigations of the scheme to bribe Nigerian government officials in order to win" the Bonny Island contracts.

View the DOJ's June 28, 2010 release here.

View the SEC's Litigation Release No. 21578 and Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Release No. 3147 (both dated June 28, 2010) in Securities and Exchange Commission v. Technip, Case No. 4:10-cv-02289, S.D. Tex. (Houston) here.

Download a copy of the SEC's civil complaint against Technip here.

Ex-KBR Boss Remains Free

Albert Jack Stanley (Credit PBS's Frontline)A federal judge in Houston last week postponed sentencing for Albert "Jack" Stanley until September 23, 2010. The former chairman and CEO of KBR pleaded guilty in September 2008 to a two-count criminal information charging him with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and to commit mail and wire fraud. He's free on unsecured bail of $100,000 pending sentencing, which has been rescheduled a half dozen times.

Stanley, 66, admitted that from 1995 to 2004, he helped a joint venture that included KBR and its predecessors funnel $182 million in bribes to government officials in Nigeria. The bribes were paid in exchange for contracts worth $6 billion to build liquefied natural gas facilities. He was sentenced to 84 months in prison and a restitution payment of $10.8 million. The jail term is subject to review based on his cooperation.

KBR pleaded guilty in February 2009 to violating the FCPA. It paid a $402 million criminal fine and, with its former parent company Halliburton, $177 million in disgorgement. Two of KBR's partners in the TSKJ joint venture have set aside money for FCPA-related settlements. French company Technip in February this year disclosed a €245 million reserve, and Italy's ENI said a month later it has a €250 million FCPA-related provision.

Stanley's testimony is likely to be at the center of FCPA enforcement actions against Technip and ENI and two U.K. citizens accused of helping the joint venture bribe Nigerian officials. The DOJ rarely seeks final sentencing against important witnesses in white collar prosecutions until they have finished giving court testimony in related cases.

Jeffrey Tesler, 61, and Wojciech Chodan, 71, were indicted in February 2009 by a federal grand jury in Houston. They were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate and ten counts of violating the FCPA. The indictment also seeks forfeiture from them of more than $132 million, the amount of the bribes U.S. prosecutors say they arranged to pay on behalf of KBR and its partners to Nigerian officials. If convicted on all counts, they each face up to 55 years in prison.

London judges earlier this year said Tesler and Chodan should be extradited to the U.S. to face trial. After all appeals, it could be a year before their extraditions happen.

Under his plea agreement, Stanley can't ask for a reduction in his sentence based on his cooperation or the value of his testimony. But the DOJ can recommend a lighter sentence to the judge if it believes Stanley has fulfilled the conditions of his plea.

His sentencing was first set for November 20, 2008 before Judge Keith P. Ellison in Houston. Since then it has been reset six times, including last week's action.

Download the September 3, 2008 plea agreement in U.S. v. Albert Jackson Stanley here.

Feds Call Time Out

There hasn't been a new FCPA enforcement action from the DOJ since Daimler's on April 1 and only Dimon's from the SEC. That's strange. The first three months of this year were the busiest in FCPA history. But since then, hardly a peep.

With around 150 cases pending and pressure building to resolve long-standing actions involving Panalpina, Technip, ENI, ABB, Alcatel-Lucent, Pride International, Inc., Alcoa, the medical device makers, and pharmas, you have to ask: Where are the enforcement actions for April and May?

In a typical year, we'd expect a couple of actions a month; this year, we'd expect more. So what's happening?

Here are a few guesses:

• Changing horses. Mark Mendelsohn, head of the DOJ's FCPA unit, left government service in mid-April. His departure would be a natural time for those still there or newly arrived to take inventory -- to use the white board to plot their present location and itinerary for the coming year.

• Resources are stretched. With all the pending prosecutions, including the 22-defendant shot-show case, the DOJ's FCPA group has to be stretched. Maybe they're taking a couple of months to catch their breath, bring in reinforcements, and lift their eyes above the trenches to make sure they aren't about to make any big mistakes.

• A new strategy. Could the DOJ be assessing its overall enforcement approach? Looking, perhaps, at how decisions are made to prosecute corporations (which are defenseless because of respondeat superior)? Or whether financial penalties that punish innocent stakeholders make sense? Or if enforcement should zero in on individuals, or find new ways to spotlight foreign officials who demand bribes . . . ?

There's precedent for the current FCPA moratorium. In February and March 2008, the DOJ also came to a dead stop. The reason was never announced but it could have been the controversy over the unregulated appointment of compliance monitors. Former Attorney General John Ashcroft's $52 million gig with Zimmer in a domestic kickback case threw Washington into a spin. The storm blew over and the DOJ was back in the FCPA business after about two months.

U.K. Court Approves Chodan Extradition

A judge in London said today that KBR's one-time sales manager accused by the U.S. of helping bribe Nigerian officials should be extradited to Texas to face trial.

Wojciech Chodan, 71, of Maidenhead, England, who's a U.K. citizen, was indicted in February 2009 by a federal grand jury in Houston. His fellow countryman Jeffery Tesler, a London lawyer indicted at the same time, also lost his extradition hearing last month in London. Telser said he plans to appeal.

They were charged with one count of conspiracy to violate and ten counts of violating the FCPA. They face up to 55 years in prison if convicted on all counts. The indictment also seeks forfeiture from them of more than $132 million, the amount of the bribes U.S. prosecutors say they arranged to pay on behalf of KBR and its partners to Nigerian officials.

KBR pleaded guilty in February 2009 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. It paid a $402 million criminal fine and, with its former parent company Halliburton, $177 million in disgorgement. KBR's former CEO, Albert "Jack" Stanley, pleaded guilty in September 2008 to conspiring to violate the FCPA and to mail and wire fraud charges. He's been cooperating with prosecutors and hasn't been finally sentenced.

In March, two of KBR's partners in Nigeria disclosed huge financial reserves for potential FCPA settlements with U.S. authorities. French company Technip said it has a €245 million provision for its role in the TSKJ Nigeria joint venture. And Italian energy giant ENI SpA said it has set aside €250 million.

Download the federal grand jury's February 17, 2009 indictment of Jeffrey Tesler and Wojciech Chodan here.

Tesler Loses Extradition Hearing

A judge in London said Thursday the U.K. lawyer accused of being a middleman in KBR's bribery of Nigerian officials should be extradited to the U.S. to face trial.

Jeffrey Tesler, 61, a U.K. citizen, was indicted in February 2009 by a federal grand jury in Houston. He was charged with one count of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and ten substantive FCPA offenses. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to 55 years in prison. U.K. police, acting at the request of U.S. authorities, arrested Tesler in March 2009.

The Guardian newspaper's Rob Evans said the judge "rejected Tesler's argument that it would be 'unjust and oppressive' to send him to America as prosecutors had taken a long time to charge him. He argued that he would no longer be able to get a fair trial in the US. However the judge pointed out that he was responsible for part of this delay, as he had hired lawyers to block prosecutors obtaining evidence from Switzerland. Prosecutors, who have been investigating the allegations for at least seven years, say that the corrupt payments were laundered via bank accounts there and in Monaco."

The U.S. indictment charged Tesler with using his Gibraltar company, Tri-Star Investments, to funnel about $132 million in bribes to Nigerian officials. The payments were intended to secure contracts worth more than $6 billion to build liquefied natural gas facilities on Nigeria's Bonny Island. The DOJ said Tesler was acting for a joint venture known as TSKJ, equally owned by KBR, Technip of France, Snamprogetti of Italy, and JGC of Japan.

A year ago, Houston-based KBR pleaded guilty to one conspiracy count and four substantive counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act through its role in TSKJ. It also settled civil charges with the SEC. KBR's criminal fine was $402 million and, with its former parent Halliburton, it agreed to pay the SEC $177 million in disgorgement.

French company Technip said last month it has reserved €245 million for a potential settlement of FCPA offenses with the Justice Department and SEC for its role in the TSKJ Nigeria joint venture. A few weeks later, Italian energy giant ENI, Snamprogetti's former owner, said it had reserved €250 million for a possible FCPA settlement.

Tesler has argued that the case against him has no connection to the U.S. because the bribery didn't originate or happen there. But lawyers for the U.K. and U.S. governments argued that U.S.-based companies were involved and money had been channelled through U.S. bank accounts.

In his indictment, the U.S. also said Tesler was subject to the FCPA as an "agent" of an "issuer," of a "domestic concern," and of a "person," all within the meaning of the FCPA (Title 15, U.S.C. §§78dd- 1, 78dd-2, and 78dd-3). 

The Guardian said Tesler's lawyers plan to appeal and that the review process would be "lengthy."

Two Sentencing Delays, Two Reasons

Photo by walknbostonSentencing for Gerald and Patricia Green was delayed again. Their next hearing is scheduled for April 1, 2010 at 8:00 am.

And Albert "Jack" Stanley's sentencing was rescheduled until May 26, 2010.

The reasons for the delays?

In the Greens' case, Judge George H. Wu in Los Angeles may be reluctant to adopt the government's view that Gerald Green, 76, should spend 20 or more years in prison. The judge has asked for memoranda analyzing sentences in prior cases. The Greens were convicted by a jury of FCPA and related offenses in September 2009.

After Jack Stanley's guilty plea in September 2008, the former KBR CEO was sentenced to seven years in prison. But the sentence is subject to review based on his cooperation with the government. His plea agreement is here.

Stanley's ex-company, KBR, resolved FCPA offenses in February 2009. And as reported, two other companies involved in the case are now discussing settlement with the DOJ -- Technip and ENI. Stanley's testimony about their roles could be important, so his sentencing isn't likely to happen until their enforcement actions are resolved. 

Stanley admitted he helped the four-party TSKJ consortium bribe Nigerian officials. In addition to KBR, Technip, and ENI, the fourth member was Japan's JGC Corporation (once known as Japan Gasoline Co., Ltd.). It hasn't disclosed any FCPA-related investigation or potential enforcement action resulting from its role in the consortium.