Former Bolivian Minister Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Launder FCPA Bribery Scheme Proceeds
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, Bolivia's former minister of government, pleaded guilty Oct. 20 to conspiracy to launder bribes received in exchange for helping a U.S. company secure a $5.6 million contract from the Bolivian government, DOJ announced. Murillo faces a maximum 10-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
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Murillo received at least $532,000 in bribes from an unnamed Florida-based company in exchange for the contract worth around $5.6 million to provide tear gas and other nonlethal equipment to the Bolivian Defense Ministry, DOJ said. The defendant and his co-conspirators laundered the proceeds through the U.S. financial system, where Murillo received around $130,000 in cash payments.
The co-conspirators -- Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman and Philip Lichtenfeld -- pleaded guilty in September 2021 to their involvement in the bribery scheme, with Mendez and Luis Berkman pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering and Bryan Berkman and Lichtenfeld pleading guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.