Och-Ziff er en af verdens største hedgefonde med 39 milliarder dollars under forvaltning. Fondsledelsen har i en årrække været velvidende om, at hedgefonden har bestukket topembedsmænd for at sikre adgang til lukrative investeringsmuligheder i Den Demokratiske Republik Congo, herunder i landets diamant- og minedrift.
“Dette er en af de største bøder, der nogensinde er blevet givet, for at overtræde FCPA (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, red.) og er et stort skridt fremad i håndteringen af virksomheders korruption. Brugen af bestikkelse muliggjorde, at Och-Ziff kunne profitere af mine- og olie tilbud, hvilket har frataget et af verdens fattigste lande for penge, der kunne have været brugt til at bygge skoler og hospitaler. Det er kun rimeligt, at de holdes til ansvar,” udtaler Pete Jones, som er kampagnemedarbejder for anti-korruptionsorganisationen Global Witness, i en pressemeddelelse på organisationens hjemmeside.
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I en erklæring skriver det amerikanske justitsministerium:
“Och-Ziff, one of the largest hedge funds, positioned itself to profit from the corruption that is sadly endemic in certain parts of Africa, including in Libya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Chad and Niger,” said U.S. Attorney Capers. “Despite knowing that bribes were being paid to senior government officials, Och-Ziff repeatedly funded corrupt transactions. One Och-Ziff employee was so bold as to order the removal of language from their African joint venture’s internal audit report that called for an investigation of suspected bribery payments by a business partner. Today’s corporate resolutions, which include a more than $213 million criminal penalty and an independent compliance monitor, hold Och-Ziff accountable for placing profits above the law and will help ensure that the conduct brought to light here never happens again at this company.”
“Gaining the upper hand in a business venture by engaging in corrupt practices is bribery in its purest form,” said Assistant Director in Charge Sweeney. “Doing so with the intention of influencing a foreign official in his or her capacity is nothing short of corruption. In this scheme, payments of millions of dollars were paid out to senior officials within certain parts of Africa in exchange for access to profitable investment opportunities. This type of behavior can’t and won’t be tolerated. I commend the investigators and prosecutors who continue to work together at home and abroad to vigorously enforce the law within the confines of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.”
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