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Who's the Goan minister that the US construction firm bribed for projects?
19 July 2015
According to prosecutors, the company and its employees bribed officials in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait between 1998 and 2010 to obtain government construction management contracts.
Louis Berger International Inc, a New-Jersey-based construction management company, will pay a Rs 108.6 crore criminal fine to resolve charges that it bribed officials to win government contracts abroad, the US Justice Department said on Friday.
The company has been charged with bribing Indian officials with several crores of rupees in two major water developmental projects in Goa and in Guwahati. It is said that the Indian officials bribed include a Goan minister. However, his identity is still unknown. The bribery of US $976,630 (approximately Rs 6.22 crore) for a Goa project by Louis Berger included that to a minister, the details of which have not been disclosed by the Department of Justice.
According to prosecutors, the company also bribed officials in Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait between 1998 and 2010 to obtain government construction management contracts.
Two former executives also pleaded guilty to charges brought under the Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act, the department said.
About $3.9 million (approximately Rs 24.8 crore) in bribes were paid to foreign officials, prosecutors said, including by the two former executives Richard Hirsch, 61, and James McClung, 59. Hirsch was Louis Berger's senior vice president for Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. McClung was a senior vice president in India and Vietnam.
The illegal payments were disguised as "commitment fees," "counterpart per diems," and third-party vendor payments, the Justice Department said.
Louis Berger's Goa project
Louis Berger was part of a consortium for the project in Goa. The consortium included two Japanese firms and an Indian partner.
The team developed a project management information system and plan, evaluated bids, reviewed design and construction plans, and ensured quality work was done on time and within budget, the company says on its website.
Federal prosecutors, in their 11-page chargesheet, alleged that Louis Berger maintained a detailed diary and account of bribery made to Indian officials.
Lousis Berger reported the charges to the Justice Department
Louis Berger said in a statement that the three-year deferred prosecution agreement resulted from its own self-reporting to the Justice Department since 2010, the year the company agreed to pay more than $69 million to the US government to settle charges for overbilling between 2001 and 2007.
"Today's settlement is the critical final milestone in our reform, as it was important for us to take responsibility for the historic actions of former managers and close the chapter on the company's pre-2010 era," Louis Berger Chairman Nicholas J. Masucci said in a statement.
The company added that since 2010, it improved its internal controls, policies and procedures and that a government-appointed compliance monitor would test and report on them over the next three years.
Louis Berger, which is headquartered in Morristown, operates in more than 50 countries and has about 6,000 employees, according to its website.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/repor...illion-fine-to-settle-bribery-charges-2105780
19 July 2015
According to prosecutors, the company and its employees bribed officials in India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait between 1998 and 2010 to obtain government construction management contracts.
Louis Berger International Inc, a New-Jersey-based construction management company, will pay a Rs 108.6 crore criminal fine to resolve charges that it bribed officials to win government contracts abroad, the US Justice Department said on Friday.
The company has been charged with bribing Indian officials with several crores of rupees in two major water developmental projects in Goa and in Guwahati. It is said that the Indian officials bribed include a Goan minister. However, his identity is still unknown. The bribery of US $976,630 (approximately Rs 6.22 crore) for a Goa project by Louis Berger included that to a minister, the details of which have not been disclosed by the Department of Justice.
According to prosecutors, the company also bribed officials in Indonesia, Vietnam and Kuwait between 1998 and 2010 to obtain government construction management contracts.
Two former executives also pleaded guilty to charges brought under the Foreign and Corrupt Practices Act, the department said.
About $3.9 million (approximately Rs 24.8 crore) in bribes were paid to foreign officials, prosecutors said, including by the two former executives Richard Hirsch, 61, and James McClung, 59. Hirsch was Louis Berger's senior vice president for Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. McClung was a senior vice president in India and Vietnam.
The illegal payments were disguised as "commitment fees," "counterpart per diems," and third-party vendor payments, the Justice Department said.
Louis Berger's Goa project
Louis Berger was part of a consortium for the project in Goa. The consortium included two Japanese firms and an Indian partner.
The team developed a project management information system and plan, evaluated bids, reviewed design and construction plans, and ensured quality work was done on time and within budget, the company says on its website.
Federal prosecutors, in their 11-page chargesheet, alleged that Louis Berger maintained a detailed diary and account of bribery made to Indian officials.
Lousis Berger reported the charges to the Justice Department
Louis Berger said in a statement that the three-year deferred prosecution agreement resulted from its own self-reporting to the Justice Department since 2010, the year the company agreed to pay more than $69 million to the US government to settle charges for overbilling between 2001 and 2007.
"Today's settlement is the critical final milestone in our reform, as it was important for us to take responsibility for the historic actions of former managers and close the chapter on the company's pre-2010 era," Louis Berger Chairman Nicholas J. Masucci said in a statement.
The company added that since 2010, it improved its internal controls, policies and procedures and that a government-appointed compliance monitor would test and report on them over the next three years.
Louis Berger, which is headquartered in Morristown, operates in more than 50 countries and has about 6,000 employees, according to its website.
http://www.dnaindia.com/money/repor...illion-fine-to-settle-bribery-charges-2105780
