Investing.com -- Louis Berger International, a New Jersey-based engineering, architectural and construction management firm, agreed to pay a $17.1 million fine on Friday to settle charges that it bribed officials from four countries in Asia to secure government contracts in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.
In addition, two former Louis Berger executives pleaded guilty to two counts of violating the FCPA. Richard Hirsch, 61, of the Philippines and James McClung, 59, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA and one count of violating the FCPA. Hirsch previously served as the company's senior vice president for operations in Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. McClung previously served as the company's senior vice president of operations in India.
From a period of between 1998 and 2010, the company admitted to coordinating a scheme that involved paying bribes of up to $3.9 million in order to secure government contracts in the aforementioned countries. The defendants allegedly hid the payments under the pretense of “commitment fees,” “counterpart per diems,” and other payments to third-party vendors, according to court filings.
In November, 2010, the company agreed to pay a record $69.3 million in a separate case to settle fraud charges brought by the government under the False Claims Act. Under the settlement, Louis Berger admitted to billing the government for costs unrelated to its defense rebuilding contracts in Afghanistan. At the time, the group was one of the largest war zone engineering contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The current bribery case was investigated by the FBI's Newark Division.
Hirsch and McClung are scheduled to be sentenced during a hearing on November 5.