Former Vitol oil trader Javier Aguilar faces up to 40 years in prison and will forfeit more than $7.1 million in two U.S. bribery cases after pleading guilty in federal court.
Aguilar, 50, had already been convicted in Brooklyn, New York, in February of orchestrating a complex scheme to bribe Mexican and Ecuadorian officials, but he pleaded guilty to a second set of charges on Wednesday, consolidating the two cases, federal prosecutors said in a separate case. statementThe move allows U.S. District Judge Eric Vitaliano to impose the sentence in both cases.
In both cases — the second case was initially filed in Texas — Aguilar was charged with conspiracy, foreign bribery and money laundering. In Brooklyn, prosecutors alleged he distributed cash payments at hotels, airports and even parking lots as part of a scheme to gain $500 million from businesses.
“By pleading guilty today, the defendant acknowledges his role in widespread corruption in the global commodities market and his disregard for laws and rules that apply to everyone in order to unfairly line the pockets of a few,” Brooklyn U.S. Attorney Brion Pace said in a statement.
The five-count indictment in Texas accused Aguilar, a former oil executive and trader, of conspiring to bribe Mexican officials working for Pemex International Procurement.
Aguilar’s attorney, Elaine Jaroslaw, said the guilty plea resolves all pending charges against her client.
“Mr. Aquilar has admitted responsibility for his role at Vitol, and we are confident that Judge Vitaliano will render a fair verdict,” Yaroslav said in a statement.
Vitol, the world’s largest independent oil trader, agreed in 2020 to a $160 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations it paid bribes in three countries. Aguilar was charged in 2020 with orchestrating a five-year bribery and money laundering scheme while working for a Vitol subsidiary in Houston.
The case in Texas is United States v. Aguilar, 23-cr-00335, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas (Houston).