Samuel Mebiame, Bribing African Officials, New York 2016

A Gabonese-French dual citizen has been sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to pay bribes to senior government officials across Africa, in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).

Gabonese-French dual citizen Samuel Mebiame, who resided in Paris prior to his arrest, was sentenced by United States District Judge Nicholas G. Garaufis. Mebiame pleaded guilty, on December 9, 2016, to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.

According to admissions made at his plea hearing, Mebiame was part of a conspiracy to provide improper benefits to government officials in multiple countries in Africa. Mebiame admitted that the improper benefits he provided were intended to influence the performance of official governmental duties, and that he took steps to further the conspiracy while physically present in New York City.

Mebiame worked as a “fixer” on behalf of a joint venture company owned by New-York-based hedge fund Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (Och-Ziff) and its business partner, a Turks and Caicos Islands-registered corporate entity controlled by a co-conspirator. In that role, Mebiame traveled extensively across Africa, Europe, and the United States and routinely made bribe payments to senior government officials in Africa.

According to court documents, Mebiame paid more than $3 million in bribes to a high-ranking government official in Niger, both directly and through intermediary agents who were selected by one of the Nigerien officials. Mebiame also made payments for luxury cars for that foreign official and directed a $100,000 donation to a charity run by a government official. In return, Mebiame obtained licenses for uranium concessions for the joint venture from the government of Niger.

Mebiame’s plea documents indicate that Mebiame repeatedly traveled to the United States between 2007 and 2015, the period of the criminal acts, and used facilities in both New York and Florida to further the conspiracy. Among other activities undertaken by Mebiame cited in court papers, he met with co-conspirators in New York, received funds from co-conspirators to U.S. bank accounts he controlled, and had telephone calls and email correspondence about the conspiracy.

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