Source: United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of New York
Javier Aguilar Conspired to Pay More than $1 Million in Bribes to Officials in Ecuador and Mexico for Over $500 Million in Oil and Gas Contracts; Forfeited More than $7.1 Million in Laundered Funds
BROOKLYN, NY – Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Javier Aguilar was sentenced to 48 months in prison for his role in two interrelated schemes to bribe Ecuadorian and Mexican government officials. In February 2024, Aguilar was convicted at trial of conspiring to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FPCA), violating the FCPA, and money laundering in connection with a scheme to bribe Ecuadorian officials. Aguilar subsequently pleaded guilty to charges arising out of a related scheme to bribe officials at PEMEX Procurement International (PPI), a wholly owned affiliate of the Mexican state-owned oil company, PEMEX. The trial and sentencing were held before United States District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano. In addition to the custodial sentence, Aguilar was also ordered to pay approximately $7.13 million in criminal forfeiture and a $100,000 fine. Restitution will be determined at a later date. Aguilar will be deported to Mexico upon completion of his prison term.
To conceal the scheme, Aguilar and his co-conspirators used a series of fake contracts, sham invoices, and shell entities incorporated in Curacao, Panama, and Cayman Islands. Aguilar also used alias email accounts to communicate with his co-conspirators.
The evidence at trial also demonstrated that Aguilar used the same system of shell entities and sham invoices to launder bribe payments to two officials at PPI. In total, Aguilar paid approximately $600,000 in bribes to PPI officials to obtain contracts for Vitol to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of ethane gas to PEMEX.
The jury convicted Aguilar of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and violating the FCPA in connection with the Ecuador bribery scheme, and 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 violate the Travel Act in connection with the Mexico bribery scheme.
Seven of Aguilar’s co-conspirators, including three foreign government officials, have pleaded guilty for their roles in the schemes. These individuals have collectively agreed to forfeit more than $63 million in proceeds from the schemes.
Read the full press release here.