SEC Charges Former Executive with Bribing Ghanaian Officials

The SEC charged a former executive of a United Kingdom-based subsidiary of a United States publicly traded bank holding company with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977 ("FCPA") by orchestrating a bribery scheme with government officials from the Republic of Ghana for the benefit of a client.

In a Complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, the SEC alleged that the former executive bribed government officials so that a client would win a contract allowing it to build and operate an electrical power plant in Ghana. The SEC claimed that the former executive conducted the bribery scheme by "funnel[ing]" an amount ranging between $3 and $4.5 million to a Ghana-based company, knowing that the money funneled into the company would be paid as bribes to the government officials. According to the SEC, the former executive took "deliberate measures" to avoid detection by his employer of the bribery scheme, including misleading his employer regarding the true purpose of the funds the Ghana-based company used to pay Ghanaian government officials.

The SEC is requesting a final judgment ordering that the former executive (i) be permanently restrained and enjoined from further violation of the FCPA provisions of the federal securities laws, (ii) disgorge ill-gotten gains, and (iii) pay a civil monetary penalty.