Oil and gas trader indicted in Brazilian bribery scheme

A Riverside resident was indicted by a federal grand jury in the District of Connecticut for his role in an alleged bribery scheme designed to win contracts with Brazil”™s state-owned and state-controlled energy company, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. ”“ Petrobras (Petrobras).

Gary Oztemel was the owner and president of Oil Trade & Transport S.A. (OTT) and the owner of Petro Trade Services Inc. (Petro Trade), both of which operated in Connecticut.

According to the charges brought against him, Oztemel, his brother Glenn Oztemel, Brazil-based intermediary Eduardo Innecco, and others allegedly paid bribes to Petrobras officials from 2010 through 2018 to assist in helping two Connecticut-based trading companies and OTT obtain and retain business with Petrobras. As part of the scheme, a Petrobras official provided Oztemel and his collaborators with confidential information regarding Petrobras”™ fuel oil business. Oztemel also allegedly used his company Petro Trade to conceal the proceeds of the scheme.

The original charges against Glenn Oztemel and Innecco were unsealed on Feb. 15, and the new superseding indictment charges Gary Oztemel with conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), conspiracy to commit money laundering, and two counts of money laundering.

If convicted, Oztemel faces a maximum of five years in prison for the conspiracy to violate the FCPA charge, a maximum of 20 years in prison for money laundering conspiracy and the first money laundering charge, and a maximum of 10 years in prison for the second money laundering charge.