Bahamas resident charged in US with bribing Azerbaijan officials

Friday, October 7, 2005

NEW YORK, USA (AFP): US federal prosecutors on Thursday charged a Bahamas resident, along with two other men, with participating in a scheme to bribe senior government officials in Azerbaijan over lucrative oil privatisation deals.

The accused men, Viktor Kozeny, a Czech national, and two US citizens, Frederic Bourke and David Pinkerton, faced a 27-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in Manhattan.

US Attorney Michael Garcia said Kozeny was arrested Wednesday in the Bahamas, where he is a resident, while the other two defendants voluntarily surrendered to FBI agents in Manhattan on Thursday morning.

The indictment alleges that the three men were involved in making corrupt promises and payments totalling millions of dollars to top Azerbaijani officials with influence over the privatisation of state-run firms.

In particular, they allegedly paid huge bribes to ensure that their investment consortium would gain a controlling interest in the State Oil Co. of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR), in order to reap profits for its ultimate resale in the market.

"Corrupt payments to foreign officials ... are a global threat to democratic institutions and fair competition," Garcia said, adding that Kozeny's extradition was being sought from the Bahamas.

Other counts in the indictment include money laundering and making false statements to federal officials.

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