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NEW YORK (Reuters) -A Canadian man once employed by the commodities trading house Gunvor Group pleaded guilty on Tuesday to involvement in what U.S. prosecutors called a scheme to bribe Ecuadorean government officials to win business from state-controlled oil company Petroecuador.
FILE PHOTO: A view shows the Ecuador s state-run Esmeraldas refinery complex in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, August 15, 2017, REUTERS/Daniel Tapia/File Photo
Raymond Kohut, 68, entered his plea to a money laundering conspiracy charge before U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano in Brooklyn, New York. He faces up to a 20 years in prison and agreed to a $2.2 million criminal forfeiture.
US Judge Turns Up Heat On Mexican Drug Baron Wanted By FBI
04/15/21 AT 2:52 PM
A US judge authorized the seizure Thursday of five properties belonging to one of the FBI s most wanted fugitives, Mexican drug baron Rafael Caro Quintero.
New York prosecutors say the properties in Mexico were bought by Caro Quintero, the head of a faction of the notorious Sinaloa cartel, with money obtained from drug trafficking. The United States will seek to enforce this order through diplomatic channels, the Eastern District of New York said in a statement following Judge Eric Vitaliano s ruling. Rafael Caro Quintero, (pictured with Mexican forces in 2005), was arrested in 1985 and sentenced to 40 years in prison, but a judge released him on a legal technicality in 2013 Photo: POLICIA FEDERAL PREVENTIVA / HO
US judge turns up heat on Mexican drug baron wanted by FBI france24.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from france24.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Oil Trader Cops To Role In $22M Ecuadorian Bribery Scheme
Law360, New York (April 6, 2021, 7:03 PM EDT) A former employee of Swiss commodities trader Gunvor Group Ltd. on Tuesday admitted to his role in a scheme to pay Ecuadorian government officials $22 million in bribes to win business from state-owned oil company PetroEcuador.
Canadian Raymond Kohut, 68, pled guilty to one count of money laundering conspiracy in a virtual proceeding before U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano in Brooklyn.
Kohut told the court that from about 2012 to August 2020, he agreed to participate in a scheme with consultants and two of his supervisors to pay bribes to Ecuadorian officials to secure business from PetroEcuador.
The St Kitts Nevis Observer
The Ecuadorean flag
MIAMI (AP) A former representative for commodities giant Gunvor pleaded guilty Tuesday to helping channel more than $22 million in bribes to high-level officials in Ecuador in exchange for lucrative contracts with the state-run oil company.
As part of his plea deal in Brooklyn federal court, Raymond Kohut agreed to forfeit $2.2 million in proceeds from the bribery scheme, which he said ran from at least 2012 to August 2020.
Kohut faces up to 20 years in prison. The 68-year-old Canadian citizen primarily resides in Panama and the Bahamas. He entered his guilty plea from Long Island, New York.