Bribes & Handbags: Bourke Convicted of Violating FCPA
Frederic Bourke, namesake of handbag company Dooney & Bourke, was found guilty today by a US jury of violating the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (commonly called FCPA).
Jurors found Bourke conspired with Czech expatriate Viktor Kozeny to bribe to Azerbaijan leaders including former President Heidar Aliyev to spur the sale of the state-owned oil company.
Bourke was accused of conspiring to violate the FCPA, conspiring to violate money-laundering laws and lying to agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. He was acquitted of money laundering. U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin said she won’t impose the 10 years prison sentence that prosecutors said Bourke faced.
Bourke, a Greenwich, Connecticut, entrepreneur who launched startups in the home-building, accessory and biotechnology industries, denied knowing of the bribes. His lawyers said Kozeny stole more than $180 million from Bourke and other investors including the hedge fund Omega Advisors Inc. and the insurer American International Group. A Bourke investment vehicle put up $8 million in the deal.
The alleged co-consipirator, Viktor Kozeny, also known as the Pirate of Prague for his underhanded dealings in the Czech Republic during privatization of industries there in the early or mid-1990s. He is currently a fugitive living in the Bahamas.
This conviction is significant, as the US ramps up enforcement of the FCPA. This also sets a precedent for future cases, as charges for violating the FCPA have not led to many convictions in the past.
Read the complete article at Bloomberg News.
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