InfoBytes Blog
Former Guinean Minister of Mines Charged with Receiving and Laundering $8.5 Million in Bribes from Chinese Companies
On December 13, the former Minister of Mines and Geology of the Republic of Guinea was arrested and charged in the U.S. with laundering bribes he allegedly received from two Chinese companies in exchange for actions he took to secure valuable mining rights for a conglomerate associated with the companies. According to the complaint filed by the DOJ, the former mining Minister received approximately $8.5 million in bribes in 2009 and 2010. To conceal the bribes, he allegedly transferred the funds to a bank account in Hong Kong which he opened while misreporting his occupation to conceal his status as a government official. He later allegedly transferred millions of dollars from the bribe proceeds into two U.S. banks to whom he also allegedly lied to conceal his position as a foreign government official and the source of the funds. The former Minister is a United States citizen and was residing in New York City when he was arrested.