Houston company pleads guilty to selling oil field parts to Sudan
Houston-based Agar Corp. was ordered to pay $2 million today after it pleaded guilty to a federal charge it violated an executive order and sold 14 oil field parts to Sudan.
Since 1997, an executive order has prohibited U.S. companies from selling non-humanitarian goods to Sudan because of that government's support for terrorism and the prevalence of human rights violations there.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa Annis told U.S. District Judge Gray Miller that in 2005 the company, which sells energy sector control systems, knowingly sold 14 multiphase flow meters through its Venezuelan affiliate to an oil development project in Sudan.
Annis said the company will forfeit the $380,000 it made on the deal, pay a criminal fine of $760,000 and a civil penalty of $860,000 for a total of $2 million.
Agar also must complete four years federal probation, and has agreed to cooperate with federal officials and develop a compliance program.
Attorney Jim Lavine stood in the courtroom with his client, David Farchy, a company vice president who entered the plea on behalf of Agar, which was charged June 10 and waived indictment and appeal. Other than short answers to the judge's inquiries, neither Lavine nor Farchy commented on the plea.
Under terms of a plea bargain, Agar paid $250,000 Thursday and has to pay more than $36,400 per month until it has paid the government the full $2 million.
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
