United States v. Samuel Mebiame (E.D.N.Y. 2016)

• Case Name
• United States v. Samuel Mebiame (E.D.N.Y. 2016)

• Date Filed
• 09/30/2016

• Enforcement Agency
• DOJ

• Countries
• Chad, Guinea, Niger

• Foreign Official
• Unnamed government officials from Niger, Guinea, and Chad.

• Date of Conduct
• 2007 to 2015

• Nature of Business
• According to court documents, Samuel Mebiame is a Gabonese national who worked as a consultant for a joint venture between an unnamed U.S.-based hedge fund (publicly known to be Och-Ziff Capital Management Group) and an unnamed Turks & Caicos Islands incorporated entity.

• Influence to be Obtained
• According to the DOJ, Mebiame worked as a “fixer” to obtain rights to mineral concessions in Africa by bribing government officials in Niger, Guinea, and Chad.  The alleged bribes included payments for cars and a $100,000 payment to a charity run by a Niger official; payment of $440,000 to rent a private jet for a Guinean official; and cash payments and paying for travel and shopping expenses of a Chad official and his spouse.

• Enforcement
• On August 16, 2016, Mebiame was arrested in Brooklyn, New York and charged with violating the FCPA.  Membiame later, on December 15, 2016, agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.  On June 14, 2017, the district court sentenced Mebiame to a term of 24-months in prison.

• Amount of the Value
• Not Stated

• Amount of Business Related to Payment
• Not Stated

• Intermediary
• None

• Citizenship of Parent Entity
• Gabon

• Compliance Monitor
• No

• Reporting Requirements
• No

• Case is Pending?
• No

• Related Enforcement Actions
• United States v. Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC (E.D.N.Y. 2016)
  United States v. OZ Africa Management GP, LLC (E.D.N.Y. 2016)
  In the Matter of Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, OZ Management LP, Daniel S. Och, and Joel M. Frank (2016)
  SEC v. Michael L. Cohen (E.D.N.Y. 2017)
  SEC v. Vanja Baros (E.D.N.Y. 2017)
  

Samuel Mebiame

• Citation
• United States v. Mebiame, No. 1:16-cr-00627 (E.D.N.Y. 2016); United States v. Mebiame, No. 1:16-mj-00752 (E.D.N.Y. 2016).

• Date Filed
• 09/30/2016

• Filed Under Seal
• No

• FCPA Statutory Provision
• • Conspiracy

• Other Statutory Provision
• None

• Disposition
• Plea Agreement

• Defendant Jurisdictional Basis
• Territorial Jurisdiction

• Defendant's Citizenship
• Gabon

• Individual Sanction
• 24-months imprisonment.