A NEPHEW of former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pleaded guilty Friday (Dec. 5) in a bribery case that grew from an attempt to sell a building complex in Vietnam for $800 million.
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| Joo Hyun Bahn |
Joo Hyun Bahn, aka Dennis Bahn, 39, of Tenafly, New Jersey, pleaded guilty Jan. 5 in federal court in Manhattan to one count of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and one count of violating the FCPA.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos set sentencing for June 29.
U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos set sentencing for June 29.
Bahn was charged alongside his father, Ban Ki Sang (Ban), and Malcolm Harris in December 2016. Ban was a senior executive at Keangnam Enterprises Co. Ltd. Harris, an arts and fashion consultant and blogger, held himself out as an agent of a foreign official.
He has been free on bail for a year since he was charged with trying to pay $2.5 million in bribes to rescue the failed real estate deal for Landmark 72, a Vietnam building complex that included a 72-story commercial building that was then the tallest building in the Indochina Peninsula.
He has been free on bail for a year since he was charged with trying to pay $2.5 million in bribes to rescue the failed real estate deal for Landmark 72, a Vietnam building complex that included a 72-story commercial building that was then the tallest building in the Indochina Peninsula.
“Bribery and corruption undermine fair competition and the rule of law,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan. “The fact that Joo Hyun Bahn’s intended scheme was thwarted by the greed and deception of one of his codefendants does not change the fact that he sought to steer an $800 million real estate deal by paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes."
“As he has now admitted, Joo Hyun Bahn schemed to bribe a foreign official to close an $800 million real estate deal for a skyscraper in Vietnam -- a deal that would have earned him a multimillion-dollar commission and much needed capital for his client, Keangnam Enterprises,” said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman. “As Bahn’s conviction demonstrates, federal law enforcement stands ready to root out commercial bribery wherever it is found.”
According to admissions made in connection with Bahn’s plea, from between February 2014 and May 2015, Bahn joined a scheme to pay bribes to a foreign official in a country in the Middle East in order to facilitate the sale by Keangnam of a commercial building known as Landmark 72 in Hanoi, Vietnam, to the Middle Eastern country’s sovereign wealth fund.
In particular, Bahn, Ban and others agreed to pay $500,000 upfront to the foreign official, who he believed made decisions about the acquisition of assets for the Middle Eastern country’s sovereign wealth fund, in order to corruptly influence him to cause the sovereign wealth fund to purchase Landmark 72. In furtherance of the scheme, Bahn and Ban transferred $500,000 to Harris for him to pass on to the foreign official. In related proceedings, codefendant Harris admitted that he double-crossed his codefendants, and simply stole the $500,000 bribe.
In particular, Bahn, Ban and others agreed to pay $500,000 upfront to the foreign official, who he believed made decisions about the acquisition of assets for the Middle Eastern country’s sovereign wealth fund, in order to corruptly influence him to cause the sovereign wealth fund to purchase Landmark 72. In furtherance of the scheme, Bahn and Ban transferred $500,000 to Harris for him to pass on to the foreign official. In related proceedings, codefendant Harris admitted that he double-crossed his codefendants, and simply stole the $500,000 bribe.
Harris pleaded guilty to his role in the scheme on June 21, 2017, and was sentenced to 42 months in prison. Ban is still awaiting trial.
The FBI’s International Corruption Squad in New York City investigated the case. The Fraud Section is responsible for investigating and prosecuting all FCPA matters.
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