From Caribbean360

WASHINGTON D.C., United States, CMC – The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) says the former co-chief executive officer of PetroTiger Ltd – a British Virgin Islands (BVI) oil and gas company with operations in Colombia and offices in New Jersey – has been indicted for his role in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials.

On Friday, the DOJ said Joseph Sigelman’s alleged action was in violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and to defraud PetroTiger.

Sigelman, 43, of Miami and the Philippines, was indicted by a US federal grand jury in the District of New Jersey and charged with “conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to commit wire fraud, conspiracy to launder money, and substantive FCPA and money laundering violations.”

Gregory Weisman, 42, of Moorestown, New Jersey, the former general counsel of PetroTiger, pleaded guilty on November 8, 2013, to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and to commit wire fraud, the DOJ said.

It said Sigelman’s co-CEO, Knut Hammarskjold, 42, of Greenville, South Carolina, pleaded guilty to the same charge on February 18, 2014.

According to court records, Sigelman and others allegedly paid bribes to an official in Colombia in exchange for the official’s assistance in securing approval for an oil services contract worth roughly US$39 million.

To conceal the alleged bribes, they first attempted to make the payments to a bank account in the name of the foreign official’s wife for purported consulting services she did not perform, the documents reveal.

According to documents, Sigelman and Hammarskjold provided Weisman invoices, including her bank account information.

Sigelman and Hammarskjold were charged by sealed complaints filed in the District of New Jersey on November 8, 2013.

Hammarskjold was arrested November 20, 2013, at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey.

Sigelman was arrested on January 3, 2014, in the Philippines.

For more on this story go to: http://www.caribbean360.com/business/former-ceo-of-bvi-firm-indicted-for-allegedly-bribing-government-officials?utm_source=Caribbean360%20Newsletters&utm_campaign=36258d4c29-5_15_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_350247989a-36258d4c29-39393477