On September 16, 2010, Richard Bistrong, vice president of Armor Holdings Inc, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and several other violations. He now faces five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his involvement with bribes made to multiple foreign government officials for defense contracts. Armor Holdings Inc, a subsidiary of the Jacksonville, FL based BAE Systems Inc, is a manufacturer and distributer of security products and vehicle armor systems for law enforcement, military applications and the commercial market.
Bistrong was found guilty of the following violations:
- Conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Policies Act’s anti-bribery provision.
- Books and records provisions.
- Department of Commerce’s (DOC) export license requirements.
From 2001 through 2006, Richard Bistrong was found to have concealed about $4.4 million in payments to foreign officials of the U.N., Netherlands, and Nigeria, resulting in around $8.4 million in gains. He provided those bribes to the following officials:
- U.N. procurement official for information and contracts for U.N. peacekeeping forces with body armor.
- Dutch procurement official for influence with the National Police Services Agency of the Netherlands to acquire a contract for Armor Holdings’ Pepper Spray.
- Nigerian official to acquire a contract with the Independent National Election Commission of Nigeria (INCEN) for fingerprint ink pads from Armor Holdings.
Bistrong faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for his guilty plea in the case with the DOJ. But he has helped the U.S. government build a 22 indictment FCPA case over the last two years by introducing FBI agents to these defendants thought to have been part of other defense contract bribery scandals. He will report as a witness for those cases.
Related FCPA Violations and Cases