Cyrus Ahsani is a former U.S. resident and U.K. citizen who served as the CEO of a Monaco-based intermediary company (“Intermediary Company”). Saman Ahsani is a citizen of the U.K. who served as the COO of Intermediary Company.
Steven Hugh Hunter is a U.K. citizen, who, after serving as an executive at a multinational engineering company, joined Intermediary Company as a Business Development Director.
Intermediary Company was a Monaco-based organization of affiliated companies and individuals that provided intermediary services for oil and gas companies globally. According to the DOJ, Intermediary Company had ties to Unaoil, which has been the subject of a large corruption investigation.
According to the DOJ, the Ahsanis and their co-conspirators made corrupt payments to foreign officials in Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Libya, and Syria to retain and obtain oil and gas contracts for multinational energy and engineering companies between 1999 and 2016. The DOJ separately alleged that Hunter participated in a conspiracy to facilitate bribe payments to Libyan officials between 2009 and 2015.
The Ahsanis and their co-conspirators allegedly used Intermediary Company to funnel bribe payments, and used offshore shell company accounts in Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, as well as Swiss bank accounts, to conceal payments. According to the DOJ, the Ahsanis took affirmative steps to conceal the scheme including using code words and causing false statements to be made in official proceedings. The DOJ alleged that Hunter paid bribes to foreign officials in Libya to secure oil and gas projects and took steps with his co-conspirators to conceal the scheme, including using secret email accounts and code words.
The DOJ alleged that from approximately 1999 to 2016, the Ahsanis laundered the proceeds from bribe payments to conceal the scheme and to cause the destruction of evidence to obstruct law enforcement investigations into the scheme. The DOJ further alleged that from approximately 2009 to 2015, Hunter instructed two principals of Intermediary Company to furnish bribe payments to Libyan officials through a secret, personal email account.
On July 23, 2018, the DOJ charged Hunter with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. On August 2, 2018, Hunter pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. The case is pending, and sentencing is scheduled for March 13, 2020 before U.S. District Judge David Hittner.
On March 4, 2019, the DOJ charged the Ahsanis each with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. On March 25, 2019, the Ahsanis each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA. The case is pending, and sentencing is scheduled for April 20, 2020 before U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore.· Algeria: $300,000.
· Angola: Not Stated.
· Azerbaijan: Not Stated.
· Democratic Republic of Congo: Not Stated.
· Iran: Not Stated.
· Iraq: Approximately $24,750,000.
· Kazakhstan: Approximately $2,536,000.
· Libya: $250,000 (C. Ahsani, S. Ahsani); $4,000 (Hunter).
· Syria: Not Stated.