Ex-Pemex manager sought 'cash register' of bribes from Vitol trader -trial evidence

NEW YORK, (Reuters) - A manager at a U.S. subsidiary of Mexican state oil company Pemex expected a "cash register" of bribes would "start ringing" once he gave inside information to an employee of the world's largest oil trader, Vitol, trial evidence showed yesterday.

Javier Aguilar, the former Vitol trader, is in the second month of his trial in the United States on charges of bribing officials in Latin America to win business for Vitol, part of a sprawling Department of Justice probe into corruption in the oil trade. Aguilar, 49, has pleaded not guilty.

The trial in Brooklyn federal court has largely focused so far on allegations Aguilar bribed officials in Ecuador to help Vitol win a 30-month, $300 million contract to ship that country's oil. Prosecutors say he also paid bribes to help Vitol win a $200 million contract to supply Pemex with liquid ethane. On Tuesday, Carlos Espinosa, a former manager at Houston-based Pemex Procurement International, testified that he and a colleague agreed to give Aguilar inside information about the competitive bidding process for the ethane contract - which would give Vitol an edge - in exchange for $600,000 in bribes.

Prosecutors showed jurors WhatsApp messages from 2017 in which Espinosa and the colleague, Gonzalo Guzman, discussed printing out a Pemex presentation for Aguilar. Espinosa wrote, "But the cash register should start ringing from now on, right?"

Asked by prosecutor Derek Ettinger what he meant, Espinosa testified, "I was literally telling Gonzalo that if we were going to start giving him confidential information that compromises us, he would need to start paying us right away."

Espinosa and Guzman have each pleaded guilty to money laundering.

Pemex has previously identified Espinosa and Guzman as employees who were bribed by Vitol.

Geneva-based Vitol in December 2020 admitted to bribing officials in Brazil, Mexico and Ecuador and agreed to pay $164 million to resolve U.S. and Brazilian probes. Aguilar faces additional charges in federal court in Houston over the alleged Pemex scheme. He has pleaded not guilty.