Bolivia's Ex Minister Charged in Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme
Published: Friday, 28 May 2021 08:44
WRITTEN BY ISOBEL VAN HAGEN
Bolivia arrested its former interior minister earlier this week over an alleged bribery and money laundering scheme that enabled a U.S.-based company to secure a government contract, the U.S. Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.
Bolivia's former Interior Minister, Arturo Murillo.
(Photo: Wikimedia)
Arturo Murillo, along with another former Bolivian official, Sergio Rodrigo Mendez, are accused of receiving bribes from a Florida-based company and later using the American financial system to launder those bribes.
Three U.S. citizens were also charged in the scheme, which took place between November 2019 and April 2020. They were arrested in Florida and Georgia.
Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Philip Lichtenfeld paid US$602,000 in bribes to Bolivian government officials for the benefit of Murillo, the Justice Department said, so Berkman’s Florida-based company—which is not named in the complaint—would receive business from the Bolivian government.
. . .
Murillo served under Bolivian President Jeanine Anez, who assumed the role after former president Evo Morales resigned in 2019 during violent protests.
More:
https://www.occrp.org/en/daily/14500-ex-bolivian-minister-charged-in-bribery-and-money-laundering-scheme