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Ex-Ecuador Comptroller General Guilty of $10M Bribery and Money Laundering Scheme
A federal jury in Miami convicted Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, 73, the former Comptroller General of Ecuador, of accepting over $10 million in bribes from the Brazil-based construction conglomerate Odebrecht S.A. and laundering the money through companies in Miami.
Between 2010 and 2015, Polit solicited and received bribe payments from Odebrecht in exchange for removing fines and not imposing fines on the company’s projects in Ecuador. In addition, in or around 2015, Polit received a bribe from an Ecuadorian businessman in exchange for helping him obtain contracts with the state-owned insurance company of Ecuador.
“This verdict is a reminder of our office’s firm commitment to investigating and prosecuting corrupt foreign officials who bring their criminally obtained funds to South Florida to buy real estate,” said U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida.
As Comptroller General of Ecuador, Polit was responsible for protecting public funds against fraud and rooting out corruption. Instead, he abused his position by soliciting and pocketing over $10 million in bribes and laundering the illicit funds in Miami, said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, head of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division.
From 2010 to at least 2017, at Polit’s direction, another member of the conspiracy caused proceeds of the bribery scheme to “disappear” by using Florida companies registered in the names of friends and associates, often without their knowledge. The conspirators also used funds from Polit’s bribery scheme to purchase and renovate real estate in Florida.
“This conviction shows that despite your wealth, title, or influence, nobody is above the law,” said Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Miami. “HSI and its partners on the El Dorado Financial Crimes Task Forces will continue to pursue corrupt foreign officials who utilize their official positions for their own illicit gain.”
Polit faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison on each count of money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering, and a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison on each count of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property. A sentencing date has not yet been set.
Odebrecht S.A. pleaded guilty in December 2016 in the Eastern District of New York to conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) in connection with a broader scheme to pay nearly $800 million in bribes to public officials in 12 countries, including Ecuador.
HSI’s Miami Field Office investigated this case, with substantial assistance from the FBI International Corruption Squad, the Justice Department’s Office of International Affairs, and law enforcement authorities in Ecuador, Brazil, Panama, and Curacao.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Public Corruption
- Source: Official Source ↗
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