Lufthansa Unit Caught Up In Bribery Scandal

[HuffingtonPost]

* Lufthansa unit BizJet provides aircraft maintenance                

* Four insiders allegedly offered bribes to get contracts                

* Two defendants pleaded guilty; other two remain abroad                

By Nick Brown                

April 5 (Reuters) - Two officers of a Lufthansa   subsidiary were indicted in Oklahoma on charges of bribing  foreign officials to secure aircraft maintenance contracts,  while two others pleaded guilty to related criminal charges, the  U.S. Department of Justice announced.                

The charges, unsealed on Friday, were filed in January of  2012 against four directors of BizJet International Sales &  Support, a U.S.-based unit of Lufthansa that provides aircraft  maintenance, after a joint probe by the DOJ and FBI.                

The men are accused of offering "hundreds of thousands of  dollars" in bribes to Latin American military officials in  violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the DOJ said in  a statement on Friday.                

The recipients of the bribes, to ensure aircraft maintenance  contracts for BizJet, include officials at the Mexican Policia  Federal Preventiva and the Estado De Roraima in Brazil, the DOJ  said.                

The charges follow an $11.8 million penalty paid last year  by BizJet stemming from the same alleged corrupt practice.                

Two of the men have already pleaded guilty, according to the  DOJ. Paul DuBois, the company's former vice president of sales,  admitted to one count each of violating and conspiring to  violate the FCPA, while Former Vice President of Finance Neal  Uhl pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the FCPA.                

Both men were sentenced in federal court in Oklahoma on  Friday to probation and eight months home detention.                

BizJet's former Chief Executive, Bernd Kowalewski, along  with former Sales Manager Jald Jensen, were indicted on charges  of violating and conspiring to violate the FCPA and laundering  money. Both are believed to be abroad, the DOJ said.                

A spokeswoman for BizJet did not respond to a request for  comment. A spokesperson for Lufthansa could not immediately be  reached.                

FCPA investigations are fairly common among U.S. companies,  but the DOJ has had some trouble making charges stick. Last  year, the department moved to dismiss a case involving almost  two dozen defendants in the arms industry after prosecutors were  unable to convince two juries that what the defendants did was  illegal.                

Another federal judge in California in December 2011  dismissed the conviction of power products company Lindsey  Manufacturing based on what he said was prosecutorial  misconduct.                

The BizJet charges reflect the department's "continued  commitment to holding individuals accountable for violations of  the FCPA," Mythili Raman, acting assistant attorney general,  said in the DOJ's statement.                

Valerie Parlave, assistant director at the FBI's Washington  field office, said the bureau is "committed to curbing  corruption."                

"Business executives have a responsibility to act  appropriately in order to maintain a fair and competitive  international market," Parlave said in the statement.

Via: HuffingtonPost