Lighthouses and Buoys

Every so often, things sort of appear out of "left field."

This is not the only blog which covers the FCPA and several law firms keep rolling statistics as to FCPA enforcement actions, indictments, pleas, etc.

Even so, has anyone ever heard of Charles Paul Edward Jumet or Ports Engineering Consultants Corporation?

Forget the indictment (that was apparently filed on November 10th - see here), Jumet pleaded guilty today to conspiring to violate the FCPA (among other charges). See here for the DOJ release.

Get ready to a make flow chart, because the facts are rather confusing.

The big picture, according to the indictment and plea, is that Jumet and others conspired to "pay money secretly to Panamanian government officials in return for awarding Ports Engineering Consultants Corporation ("PECC" - a company organized under the laws of Panama with an office in Virginia) contracts to maintain lighthouses and buoys along Panama's waterways..." (see indictment p. 4). Jumet, a U.S. citizen, was the VP of PECC and later its President.

The "foreign officials" were: Government Official A (the Administrator of Panama's National Maritime Ports Authority) ("APN"); Government Official B (a Deputy Administrator and Administrator of APN); and Government Official C ("a very high-ranking executive official of the Republic of Panama").

According to the indictment, Jumet and others designated "Warmspell Holding Company" and "Soderville Corporation" as shareholders of PECC as a means of giving corrupt payments to the officials in the form of "dividend" payments or "bearer" shares.

According to indictment, Soderville "belonged to Government Official A" and Warmspell "corporate officers were relatives of Government Official B."

According to the DOJ release, "[a]s part of his plea agreement, Jumet has agreed to cooperate with the Department of Justice in its ongoing investigation."

Also out of "left-field," since when did the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement begin to enforce the FCPA?

Para. 3 of the indictment says that "[i]nvestigation of violations of the FCPA ... fall within the jurisdiction of both the [FBI] and the United States Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement."