Month in a Minute: January 2025

Hughes Hubbard’s anti-corruption “Month in a Minute” offers a quick look-back at the biggest foreign corruption-related developments from the prior month The Month in a Minute is intended to provide a quick snapshot of the latest news and developments We hope you find it a useful and perhaps even enjoyable resource

Highlights from January 2025 include a final judgment in a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) related forfeiture action and a Connecticut oil trader’s attempt to seek acquittal or retrial for bribery charges

U.S. To Recover $20 Million Related to Venezuelan Bribery Scheme

On Jan. 8, U.S. District Judge Melissa Damian in the Southern District of Florida entered a judgment that allows the U.S. government to recover approximately $20 million from the wife of Naman Wakil, a deceased businessman accused of paying bribes to Venezuelan officials. Between 2010 and 2017, Wakil allegedly paid tens of millions in bribes to officials at Venezuela’s state-owned oil company, Petr6leos de Venezuela, SA (PDVSA), and Venezuela’s state-owned food company, Corporaci6n de Abastecimiento y Servicios Agricola (CASA), in exchange for business contracts worth $250 million Wakil was arrested in August 2021 and charged with conspiracy to violate the FCPA, violating the FCPA conspiracy to commit money laundering, international promotional money laundering and three counts of engaging in transactions involving criminally derived property. At the time of his arrest, Wakil faced a maximum penalty of 80 years in prison. He died in July 2023 before he could be tried in federal court

In 2023, the DOJ filed a civil forfeiture complaint against $212 million in proceeds that Wakil received from bribes he paid to CASA. On Dec. 5, 2024, Wakil’s spouse entered into a settlement agreement with the DOJ under which she would retain 10% of the assets sought and the U.S. government would recover the remaining 90%. The Jan. 8 final judgment of forfeiture approved the settlement terms, allowing the U.S. to recover nearly $20 million.

Glenn Oztemel Seeks Acquittal or Retrial in Petrobras Bribery Trial

On Jan. 23, former oil trader Glenn Oztemel filed a motion requesting acquittal or a retrial on foreign bribery charges. A Connecticut federal jury found Oztemel guilty on Sept. 26, 2024, of violating the FCPA, money laundering and related conspiracy counts for his role in the payment of bribes to officials at Petrobras, Brazil’s state-owned energy company. From 2010 through 2018, Oztemel, along with his brother, Gary Oztemel, paid approximately $1 million in bribes through an intermediary, Brazilian oil trader Eduardo lnnecco, to Petrobras officials to obtain and retain lucrative contracts for two commodities trading companies — Freepoint Commodities LLC and Arcadia Fuels Ltd. For additional information regarding the scheme and related prosecutions, see HHR’s Month in a Minute updates for August 2023, December 2023, June 2024, July 2024, September 2024 and October 2024.

In the motion, Oztemel argued the government failed to prove he was a knowing participant in the bribery conspiracy. According to Oztemel, the government did not show that its evidence — two wire transfers from Freepoint to a company owned by lnnecco and an email from lnnecco’s company to Freepoint containing invoices — was in furtherance of the bribery scheme. Oztemel argued that the government did not provide evidence of communications facilitating bribes during that time period and that lnnecco did not pay Petrobras officials from the same company that received Oztemel’s payments. Oztemel also argued the government’s allegations were outside of the five-year statute of limitations. According to Oztemel, prosecutors did not produce any wire transfers within the limitations period and a former Petrobras official, Rodrigo Berkowitz, could not confidently identify the details of any payments within the period. Finally, Oztemel maintained the relationship between Freepoint and lnnecco was common and legal and the information a middleman relayed to Oztemel in 2018 regarding competitor bids was normal.

In the alternative, Oztemel requested a retrial due to three alleged errors in the jury instructions. Additionally, Oztemel objected to the restrictions imposed for opening statements as well as the handling of a government witness, Rodrigo Berkowitz.

Fact of the Month

Jan. 20 was the 10th anniversary of the premiere of the Broadway musical Hamilton. Written by Lin­ Manuel Miranda, Hamilton was an immediate hit and became one of the highest-grossing Broadway shows of all time. Although Hamilton is known for its fast-paced sequences (the musical averages almost 144 words per minute), the process to write it was anything but fast. Miranda reportedly spent a full year writing the first song, Alexander Hamilton, and another year writing the second.