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By Mark Curriden – (December 11) – Grapevine-based Dallas Airmotive Inc. admitted late Wednesday to federal prosecutors that it paid bribes to government officials in Argentina and Brazil in order to obtain lucrative airplane engine maintenance contracts.
As part of a deal struck with the U.S. Department of Justice, Dallas Airmotive agreed to pay $14 million in criminal penalties for violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to records filed Wednesday in federal court in Dallas.
Federal prosecutors said that Dallas Airmotive paid bribes to officials with the Brazilian Air Force, the Peruvian Air Force, the Office of the Governor of the Brazilian State of Roraima, and the Office of the Governor of the San Juan Province in Argentina.
“Dallas Airmotive used various methods to convey the bribe payments, including by entering into agreements with front companies affiliated with foreign officials, making payments to third-party representatives with the understanding that funds would be directed to foreign officials, and directly providing things of value, such as paid vacations, to foreign officials,” the Justice Department said in a written statement.
Federal prosecutors said five Dallas Airmotive officials, three government officials and three leaders at so-called “Front Companies” were involved in the scheme, but the Justice Department declined to identify those individuals or say whether they were cooperating with the investigation or whether they were still under investigation.
New York-based partner Karen Patton Seymour of Sullivan Cromwell represented Dallas Airmotive in the matter.
In an email, a Dallas Airmotive spokesperson said those responsible for the bribes are no longer with the company and its Brazilian entity and South American sales team are operating under new leadership.
“Ethical and legal compliance are core values of Dallas Airmotive and we are firmly committed to upholding the high standards articulated in our Code of Business Ethics,” the spokesperson said. “We regret that those standards were breached by a limited number of third-party agents and employees of Dallas Airmotive’s business in South America from 2008-2012.”
The spokesperson also pointed out that the DOJ has acknowledged Dallas Airmotive’s “substantial cooperation with its investigation. The DOJ has also recognized the improvements we have made to date in our compliance and control programs, and our commitment to further enhancements. We continually look for ways to further improve in these important areas to ensure we uphold our high standards of conduct, which are fundamental to the way we operate.”
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