Summary
Javier Aguilar, 52, a Mexican national living in Houston, Texas, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison for his role in two separate schemes to bribe foreign government officials in Ecuador and Mexico.
A former oil trader at Vitol Inc., Aguilar was sentenced in Brooklyn, New York, after being convicted and pleading guilty to offenses connected to the bribery schemes.
The court also ordered Aguilar to pay $7.13 million in forfeiture and a $100,000 fine.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Aguilar paid more than $1 million in bribes to officials connected to Ecuador’s state-owned oil company Petroecuador and Mexico’s PEMEX Procurement International (PPI) to obtain and retain business for Vitol.
Key details of the case
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Defendant | Javier Aguilar |
| Age | 52 |
| Nationality | Mexican |
| Residence | Houston, Texas |
| Former occupation | Oil trader |
| Employer during schemes | Vitol Inc. |
| Prison sentence | 4 years |
| Forfeiture | $7.13 million |
| Fine | $100,000 |
| Countries involved | Ecuador and Mexico |
| Ecuador bribery | More than $1 million |
| Mexico bribery | Approximately $600,000 |
| Main law | Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) |
| Other offense | Travel Act |
| Co-conspirators who pleaded guilty | 7 |
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Javier Aguilar bribed foreign officials for oil contracts
According to the DOJ, Aguilar participated in two separate bribery schemes while working as a trader at Vitol between 2015 and 2020.
The schemes involved officials in Ecuador and Mexico and were designed to help Vitol obtain or retain lucrative energy contracts.
The trial evidence showed that Aguilar and his co-conspirators used payments, shell entities, sham contracts and fraudulent invoices to conceal the bribes and move the proceeds through the financial system.
The DOJ said the schemes involved U.S. financial institutions and cross-border transactions.
Ecuador Petroecuador bribery scheme
In Ecuador, Aguilar and his co-conspirators agreed to pay bribes to senior officials of Petroecuador, Ecuador’s state-owned oil company.
The purpose was to help Vitol obtain a $300 million contract to purchase fuel oil.
According to evidence presented at trial, the conspirators used another Middle Eastern state-owned entity to get around Petroecuador restrictions on contracts with private companies.
In exchange for promised and actual bribe payments, Ecuadorian officials allegedly ensured that the Middle Eastern entity and Vitol received the contract.
Aguilar and his co-conspirators paid more than $1 million in bribes in connection with the Ecuador scheme.
Shell companies used to conceal bribe payments
The DOJ said Aguilar and his co-conspirators took steps to conceal the bribery scheme.
They used:
- Fake contracts.
- Sham invoices.
- Shell companies.
- Alias email accounts.
- Entities incorporated in Curaçao.
- Entities incorporated in Panama.
- Entities incorporated in the Cayman Islands.
The same system of shell entities and sham invoices was also used to facilitate and conceal payments connected to the Mexico bribery scheme.
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According to the DOJ, the arrangements were designed to make corrupt payments appear to be legitimate business transactions.
Mexico bribery scheme involved PEMEX contracts
Aguilar also participated in a separate scheme involving PEMEX Procurement International (PPI), a subsidiary of Mexico’s state-owned oil company PEMEX.
Trial evidence showed that Aguilar and his co-conspirators used shell entities and sham invoices to make approximately $600,000 in bribe payments to two PPI officials.
The payments were intended to help Vitol obtain contracts to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of ethane gas to PEMEX.
The Mexico scheme used similar methods to conceal the payments, including shell companies and allegedly fraudulent contracts and invoices.
How the two schemes were connected
The two schemes involved different foreign government entities but shared several methods, according to the DOJ.
| Ecuador | Mexico |
|---|---|
| Petroecuador | PEMEX Procurement International |
| More than $1 million in bribes | Approximately $600,000 in bribes |
| Fuel oil contract | Ethane gas contracts |
| $300 million contract | Hundreds of millions of dollars in supply contracts |
| Senior Ecuadorian officials | Two PPI officials |
| Shell entities and sham invoices | Shell entities and sham invoices |
The DOJ said Aguilar used U.S. financial institutions while carrying out the schemes.
Aguilar convicted and pleaded guilty
A federal jury convicted Aguilar of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and violating the FCPA in connection with the Ecuador bribery scheme.
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He was also convicted of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with the Ecuador and Mexico bribery schemes.
Aguilar separately pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to violating the Travel Act in connection with the Mexico bribery scheme.
The court subsequently sentenced him to four years in prison.
Seven co-conspirators pleaded guilty
The DOJ said seven of Aguilar’s co-conspirators, including three foreign government officials, have pleaded guilty for their roles in the bribery schemes.
Collectively, those individuals agreed to forfeit more than $63 million in proceeds from the schemes.
The cases therefore involved multiple participants across the bribery and money laundering arrangements.
Vitol admitted to FCPA violations
Vitol itself also faced enforcement action.
In December 2020, Vitol admitted that it had bribed officials in Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil in violation of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA.
Vitol entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the DOJ’s Criminal Division’s White Collar and Corporate Enforcement Section and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
As part of the resolution, Vitol agreed to pay $135 million in combined penalties under a coordinated resolution involving the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and authorities in Brazil.
DOJ warns against international bribery
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division said the sentence demonstrates that individuals who facilitate international bribery and money laundering schemes can face criminal penalties.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. for the Eastern District of New York said the sentencing reinforces the government’s efforts to investigate corruption involving commodities markets.
FBI Criminal Division Assistant Director Heith Janke said the case demonstrates the reach of the FCPA and the FBI’s ability to investigate international corruption schemes involving the U.S. financial system.
Investigation and prosecution
The investigation was conducted by FBI Miami’s International Corruption Squad.
The prosecution involved attorneys from the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
The DOJ’s Money Laundering, Narcotics and Forfeiture Section (MNF) and the department’s Office of International Affairs also provided assistance.
The case was prosecuted by officials including Assistant Chief Derek J. Ettinger, Trial Attorney D. Hunter Smith, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Axelrod for the Eastern District of New York, with assistance from prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas.
International bribery enforcement
The case involved several areas of federal enforcement:
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enforcement
- International bribery investigations
- Money laundering prosecution
- Asset forfeiture
- Cross-border financial investigations
- Foreign government corruption
The case also illustrates how shell companies, fraudulent documentation and financial institutions can be used to conceal payments connected to alleged corruption.
To read the original order please visit Department of Justice (DOJ) website