Former Bolivian minister pleads guilty to US bribery scheme
FILE PHOTO: The crest of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is seen at their headquarters in Washington, D.C., US, May 10, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Washington, United States — A former Bolivian cabinet minister pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiring to launder bribes from a Florida-based company, the US Department of Justice said.
Arturo Murillo, 58, received at least $532,000 in bribe payments from the company in exchange for helping it win a $5.6 million contract to provide tear gas and other non-lethal equipment to the Bolivian defense ministry, the Justice Department said.
Murillo served as interior minister in the interim right-wing government of Jeanine Anez, who took over Bolivia’s government in 2019 after the ouster of Evo Morales, Bolivia’s first indigenous president, amid street protests.
Four co-conspirators joined Murillo in laundering the bribe money through US banks, including one in Miami where Murillo received $130,000 in cash payments, the Justice Department said.
Murillo faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
The four co-conspirators, Sergio Rodrigo Mendez, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman and Philip Lichtenfeld, pleaded guilty last year to their roles in the scheme.
They have been given prison terms ranging from 26 months to 42 months.
