Businessman admits FCPA offenses in Citgo bribe case
An executive who controlled several U.S.-based companies pleaded guilty Wednesday to bribing officials at subsidiaries of Venezuela’s state energy company.
Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino (Gonzalez), 49, of Miami, Florida,
pleaded guilty in federal court in Houston to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, one count of violating the FCPA, and one count of failing to report foreign bank accounts.
Sentencing is set for August 28.
Gonzalez, a dual U.S.-Venezuelan citizen, was arrested in July 2018 at Miami International Airport.
He bribed four officials at Citgo Petroleum Corporation. Citgo, based in Houston, is owned by Venezuela’s state-owned Petroleos de Venezuela S.A. (PDVSA).
Among other things, Citgo bought “goods and services on behalf of PDVSA,” the DOJ said.
Gonzalez bribed the Citgo officials to win energy and logistics contracts and get his companies paid faster than other PDVSA vendors.
He and a co-conspirator paid at least $629,000 in bribes to Citgo’s former general manager, Cesar David Rincon-Godoy, in 2012 and 2013. The DOJ has charged Rincon-Godoy with money laundering offenses.
The FCPA Blog
http://www.fcpablog.com/blog/2019/5/30/businessman-admits-fcpa-offenses-in-citgo-bribe-case.html