Former top Petroecuador official testifies Trafigura, Vitol and Gunvor bribing him
- Published
by Admin
Nilsen Arias, former Head of International Trade at Petroecuador, reportedly testified that he was bribed by three top commodity trading companies during his tenure in a New York trial into the Ecuadorian corruption scheme, according to Bloomberg on Friday (12 January).
He named Trafigura, Vitol Group and Gunvor Group in his testimony.
Arias, who has been testifying for the past week, reportedly said that he had received bribes from “certain companies” via the Pere brothers, consultants who operated from Miami and Ecuador and were used to funnel bribes to Ecuadorian officials.
When asked to name the companies, he identified Trafigura, Gunvor, Vitol and US asphalt firm Sargeant Marine. Sergeant Marine pleaded guilty to bribery charges in Brazil, Venezuela and Ecuador in 2020.
The case is US v. Aguilar, 20-cr-390, US District Court, Eastern District of New York (Brooklyn).
Vitol Group, the world’s largest oil trader, in 2020 reportedly admitted to having bribed government officials for more than a decade in three countries including Ecuador, while rival Gunvor Group has disclosed it faced a US investigation over bribery in Ecuador and booked a $650 million provision.
Meanwhile, the media also reported that Switzerland’s federal prosecutor charged Trafigura last month with bribing foreign officials in Angola. Trafigura and former Chief Operating Officer Mike Wainwright were accused of arranging EUR 5 million of bribes to an Angolan government official between 2009 and 2011.
Photo credit: Claire Anderson on Unsplash
Published: 15 January, 2024
