FCPA Scorecard Blog
Financial advisor pleads guilty to money laundering in PetroEcuador case
On September 11, a Miami-based financial advisor pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with his role in making corrupt payments to officials of Ecuador’s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Empresa Pública de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (PetroEcuador). He is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 14 in the Southern District of Florida.
Larrea is the fourth individual, including two former officials of PetroEcuador, to plead guilty in this case, which concerns efforts by an oil services contractor to make payments to PetroEcuador officials in an effort to retain existing contracts and win new business with PetroEcuador. Frank Roberto Chatburn Ripalda (Chatburn), who was charged in the same indictment as Larrea, has pleaded not guilty and is currently set to go to trial on October 15. Unlike Larrea, Chatburn’s charges include one count of conspiring to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the FCPA.