Ecuador’s Former Comptroller General Convicted of Multi-Million Dollar Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme

A federal jury in Miami has convicted Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, the former Comptroller General of Ecuador, for his role in a multimillion-dollar international bribery and money laundering scheme.

Background

The Case Against Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni

Between 2010 and 2015, Polit solicited and received over $10 million in bribe payments from Odebrecht S.A., a Brazil-based construction conglomerate. As Comptroller General of Ecuador, Polit was responsible for protecting public funds against fraud and rooting out corruption.

The Bribery Scheme

• Polit took bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for removing fines and not imposing fines on Odebrecht’s projects in Ecuador.
• In or around 2015, Polit received a bribe from an Ecuadorian businessman in exchange for assisting the businessman with obtaining certain contracts with the state-owned insurance company of Ecuador.

The Conviction

The conviction is a significant blow to corruption in Ecuador and demonstrates the US government’s commitment to holding accountable foreign officials who abuse their positions for personal gain. As Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri noted, “As Comptroller General of Ecuador, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni was entrusted to protect the people of Ecuador from the misuse of public funds. Instead, Polit abused his position as a public official by soliciting and pocketing over $10 million in bribes and then laundering the illicit funds in Miami.”

Penalties

Polit faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

Investigation and Prosecution

The investigation was conducted by HSI’s Miami Field Office and the FBI International Corruption Squad, with substantial assistance from the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs and law enforcement authorities in Ecuador, Brazil, Panama, and Curacao. Trial Attorney Jil Simon and Assistant Chief Alexander Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section are prosecuting the case.

Odebrecht S.A., the company at the center of the bribery scheme, pleaded guilty in December 2016 to conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a broader scheme to pay nearly $800 million in bribes to public officials in 12 countries, including Ecuador.