Two plead guilty in energy bribery case
Scheme at Dutch-based services provider led to payments to government officials in Brazil, Angola and Equatorial Guinea
Two former executives at a Dutch oil and gas services company pleaded guilty to conspiracy for their roles in bribing foreign government officials in Brazil, Angola and Equatorial Guinea.
Anthony Mace and Robert Zubiate entered their pleas earlier this month in a case involving the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston.
Mace, 65, of the United Kingdom, admitted that prior to becoming CEO of Oil Services Co., other employees made an agreement to pay bribes to foreign officials, including to Brazil’s state-controlled oil company, Petróleo Brasileiro (Petrobras), Angola’s state-owned oil company, Sociedade Nacional de Combustíveis de Angola E.P. (Sonangol) and Equatorial Guinea’s state-owned oil company, Petroléos de Guinea Ecuatorial (GEPetrol).
Mace was CEO of Oil Services between 2008 and 2011 and a former board member of its wholly owned Houston subsidiary. He admitted he authorized the payments and deliberately avoided learning that the payments were bribes, according to his plea agreement.
Mace faces up to five years in prison. His lawyer would not comment.
Zubiate, 66, of California, was a former Texas and California-based sales and marketing executive at the Oil Services’ subsidiary. He admitted that between 1996 and 2012, he and others used a third-party sales agent to pay bribes to foreign officials at Petrobras in exchange for helping Oil Services Co. and its U.S. subsidiary with winning bids, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Houston, which made the announcement.
Zubiate also admitted participating in a kickback scheme with the bribe-paying sales agent for Oil Services and its U.S. subsidiary, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The plea agreement is not available in the federal court records.
Zubiate’s lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
Sentencing for Zubiate is scheduled for Jan. 31. Mace will be sentenced Feb. 2.