Feds Accuse Westport Man Of Money Laundering, Foreign Corruption

WESTPORT, CT — Federal authorities recently charged a 64-year-old Westport man with conspiracy, multiple counts of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, and money laundering in an international energy company bribery scheme. The indictment, which also includes charges against a foreign national, was unsealed on Friday.

Glenn Oztemel is accused of being a part of an alleged scheme to pay bribes to Brazilian officials to win contracts with Brazil’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. – Petrobras.

According to court documents, Oztemel worked as a senior oil and gas trader at two unnamed Connecticut-based trading companies (referred to as Trading Company #1 and Trading Company #2). Eduardo Innecco, 73, a dual Brazilian and Italian citizen, worked as an oil and gas broker and agent for Trading Company #1 and Trading Company #2 in Brazil.

Between approximately mid-2010 and continuing into 2018, Oztemel, Innecco, and others allegedly paid bribes to Petrobras officials for their assistance in helping Trading Company #1 and Trading Company #2 obtain and retain business with Petrobras, according to prosecutors. The alleged bribes provided Oztemel, Innecco, and others with confidential information regarding Petrobras’ fuel oil business.

Prosecutors allege that Oztemel and his co-conspirators caused Trading Company #1 and Trading Company #2 to make corrupt payments – disguised as purported consulting fees and commissions – to Innecco, knowing that Innecco would pay a portion of those funds to Brazilian officials as bribes. To conceal the scheme, Oztemel, Innecco, and their co-conspirators are accused of using coded language to refer to the bribes and communicating using personal email accounts, fictitious names, and encrypted messaging applications.

Oztemel and Innecco are each charged with the following:

• Conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Conspiracy to commit money laundering
• Violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (3 counts)
• Money laundering (2 counts)

The two each face up to five years in prison for each of the bribery conspiracy and bribery charges, and up to 20 years in prison for each of the money laundering conspiracy and money laundering charges, according to prosecutors.

Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Vanessa R. Avery for the District of Connecticut, Assistant Director Luis Quesada of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division, and Assistant Director in Charge Donald Alway of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office made the announcement.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Trial Attorney Clayton P. Solomon and Assistant Chiefs Derek J. Ettinger and Jonathan P. Robell of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael McGarry for the District of Connecticut are prosecuting the case.

The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting FCPA matters. Additional information about the Justice Department’s FCPA enforcement efforts can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.

Federal prosecutors remind people that an indictment is merely an allegation, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.