Two high-powered Wall Street executives are facing federal charges for their alleged role in a massive international bribery scheme involving a Venezuelan state bank.
Benito Chinea, 47, CEO of a New York-based broker-dealer, and Joseph DeMeneses, 44, a managing partner, were arrested today on felony charges in connection with a conspiracy to pay bribes to a senior official at Banco de Desarrollo Económico y Social de Venezuela (BANDES), the state economic development bank of Venezuela.
According to the indictment unsealed today, Chinea and DeMeneses are accused of conspiring with others to pay and launder bribes to Maria de los Angeles Gonzalez de Hernandez, a senior official at BANDES, in exchange for her directing the bank’s financial trading business to their firm.
The indictment alleges that the bribes, which totaled six figures, were paid to Gonzalez in exchange for her steering BANDES’s overseas trading business to the defendants’ firm.
Chinea and DeMeneses, who worked at the headquarters of the broker-dealer in New York City, are also accused of conspiring to obstruct an examination of the firm by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to conceal the true facts of the firm’s relationship with BANDES.
Chinea was arrested today in Manalapan, N.J., while DeMeneses was arrested in Fairfield, Conn. The SEC has also filed civil charges against the two men and others involved in the bribery scheme.
The case is a stark reminder of the ongoing problem of corruption and bribery in the financial industry.
‘These senior Wall Street executives are accused of paying six-figure bribes to an official in Venezuela to secure foreign business for their firm,’ said Acting Assistant Attorney General David A. O’Neil. ‘Today’s charges show once again that we will aggressively pursue individual executives, all the way up the corporate ladder, when they try to bribe their way ahead of the competition.’
Chinea and DeMeneses are charged with conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and conspiracy to obstruct an SEC examination.
As the investigation continues, it is clear that the individuals responsible for this scheme will be held accountable for their actions.
The case is a prime example of how the public corruption unit will not tolerate the kind of outright bribery and concealment that characterized this scheme.’ said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara.
According to the allegations in the indictment, Chinea and DeMeneses worked at the headquarters of the Broker-Dealer in New York City. In 2008, the Broker-Dealer established a group called the Global Markets Group (GMG), which offered fixed income trading services for institutional clients in the purchase and sale of foreign sovereign debt. One of the Broker-Dealer’s GMG clients was BANDES, which operated under the direction of the Venezuelan Ministry of Finance. Gonzalez was an official at BANDES and oversaw the development bank’s overseas trading activity.
In a separate action, the SEC announced civil charges against Chinea, DeMeneses and others involved in the bribery scheme.
Defendant Information:
Defendant: Benito Chinea, 47, CEO of a New York-based broker-dealer
Charges: Conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and conspiracy to obstruct an SEC examination
Location: Arrested in Manalapan, N.J.
Status: Currently in custody pending further proceedings
Defendant: Joseph DeMeneses, 44, managing partner of a New York-based broker-dealer
Charges: Conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and conspiracy to obstruct an SEC examination
Location: Arrested in Fairfield, Conn.
Status: Currently in custody pending further proceedings
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: White Collar Crime|Public Corruption
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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