Us corruption complaint filed over st lucia oil agreement

1.
US
corruption
complaint
filed
over
St
Lucia
oil
agreement
WASHINGTON,
USA
-­‐-­‐
A
complaint
has
been
filed
with
the
Department
of
Justice
(DOJ)
in
the
United
States
under
the
Foreign
Corrupt
Practices
Act
(FCPA)
in
relation
to
a
contract
purporting
to
grant
oil
exploration
rights
over
some
eight
million
acres
of
Saint
Lucia’s
maritime
territory.
The
46-­‐page
complaint,
which
Caribbean
News
Now
has
seen,
names
Saint
Lucia’s
prime
minister,
Dr
Kenny
Anthony,
and
RSM
Production
Company
(RSM),
a
Texas
company,
along
with
its
president
Jack
J.
Grynberg.
Caribbean
News
Now
has
also
seen
a
written
notification
confirming
receipt
of
the
document
by
the
DOJ.
According
to
the
DOJ
website,
the
FCPA
was
enacted
in
1977
for
the
purpose
of
making
it
unlawful
for
certain
US
persons
and
entities
to
make
payments
to
foreign
government
officials
to
assist
in
obtaining
or
retaining
business.
“Using
the
FCPA,
the
Department
helps
ensure
that
US
companies
and
individuals,
as
well
as
foreign
companies
and
individuals
where
appropriate,
are
held
accountable
when
they
pay
bribes
to
foreign

2. government
officials
in
order
to
get
business,”
deputy
US
attorney
general
James
Cole
explained
recently.
Specifically,
the
complaint
notes
that,
in
or
about
February
2000,
Anthony,
as
then
minister
of
finance,
planning
and
sustainable
development,
signed
a
contract
with
RSM
that
purported
to
grant
the
company
an
“Exploration
License”
in
respect
of
territorial
maritime
resources
belonging
to
Saint
Lucia
amounting
to
8,726,263
acres.
However,
under
Saint
Lucia’s
Minerals
Vesting
Act,
all
minerals
in,
on
or
under
any
land
in
Saint
Lucia
are
vested
in
and
controlled
by
the
Crown
and
only
the
governor
general
may
grant
a
licence
to
prospect
for
and/or
mine
such
minerals.
Further,
although
the
contract
provides
that
RSM
shall
pay
a
royalty
to
“the
Government”
(as
required
by
section
5
of
the
Minerals
Vesting
Act),
it
goes
on
to
state
that
the
liability
of
RSM
in
this
respect
shall
be
discharged
by
paying
such
royalty
to
the
minister
and
not
the
government.
The
complaint
states
that
these
facts,
among
others,
establish
probable
cause
that
a
crime
has
been
committed
to
warrant
investigation
and
possible
prosecution
under
the
FCPA:
1.
The
contract
was
signed
by
Anthony
purportedly
as
a
Saint
Lucia
government
minister
but
who
was
not
in
fact
legally
authorised
or
empowered
to
do
so;
2.
The
contract
was
approved
neither
by
parliament
nor
the
governor
general
of
Saint
Lucia;
3.
Royalty
payments
under
the
contract
are
to
be
made
directly
to
a
public
official,
not
the
Saint
Lucia
government
itself;
The
complaint
in
question
is
an
allegation
of
possible
unlawful
conduct.
The
allegations
must
still
be
investigated,
prosecuted
and
proven
in
US
federal
court.