2017-10-05 DOJ SDNY press_release 119 KB 5,517 chars

Fraudster Involved In International Bribery Scheme Relating To Korean Company’s Attempted Sale Of $800 Million Skyscraper In Vietnam Sentenced To 42 Months In Prison

Caption: United States v. International Bribery Scheme, et al.

summary

Malcolm Harris was sentenced to 42 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering after posing as a middleman to a Middle Eastern official, convincing co-conspirators to pay a $500,000 bribe for the $800 million sale of Vietnam’s Landmark 72 skyscraper, then stealing the money for personal use.

paragraph

Malcolm Harris was sentenced to 42 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering related to a scheme to bribe a Middle Eastern official to facilitate the $800 million sale of Vietnam’s Landmark 72 skyscraper by South Korean company Keangnam Enterprises. He falsely claimed ties to the foreign official, fabricated communications, and convinced co-conspirators Joo Hyun Bahn and Ban Ki Sang to pay a $500,000 upfront bribe, which he stole and spent on luxury expenses including a Brooklyn penthouse. Harris pleaded guilty and was ordered to forfeit $500,000 and pay $760,148.57 in restitution, while Bahn awaits trial and Ban remains a fugitive in South Korea.

narrative

Malcolm Harris, a New York resident, was sentenced to 42 months in federal prison for wire fraud and money laundering after orchestrating a fraudulent bribery scheme tied to the attempted $800 million sale of Vietnam’s Landmark 72 skyscraper by South Korean construction firm Keangnam Enterprises. Harris posed as an agent of a Middle Eastern official, fabricating emails and communications to deceive co-conspirators Joo Hyun Bahn and Ban Ki Sang into believing he could influence a sovereign wealth fund to purchase the building. In April 2014, Bahn and Ban agreed to pay a $500,000 upfront bribe through Harris, who had no actual connection to the foreign official and never intended to deliver the funds. Instead, Harris stole the entire $500,000 and spent it on personal luxuries, including rent for a high-end penthouse in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. He also falsely promised a $2 million payment upon closing the deal, which was never made. Harris pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and was ordered to forfeit the $500,000 he stole and pay $760,148.57 in restitution to victims. His co-defendants remain in legal limbo: Bahn is set for trial in February 2018, while Ban Ki Sang is believed to be a fugitive residing in South Korea.

Enriched metadata

Scheme: fcpa (90%)
Court: Southern District of New York
Outcome: pleaded
Settlement: $2,000,000
Restitution: $760,149
Victim loss: $800,000,000

Classified fcpa(confidence 90%). No EDGAR filing fingerprint (criminal/DOJ-side scheme). detection rule →

Extracted insights

Dollar amounts 6

$800.00M $800 Million $100M–$1B
$800.00M $800 million $100M–$1B
$2.50M $2.5 million $1M–$10M
$2.00M $2 million $1M–$10M
$760K $760,148 $100K–$1M
$500K $500,000 $100K–$1M

Entities 5

person international bribery scheme
company keangnam enterprises co., ltd.
person malcolm harris
person through malcolm harris
scheme_term wire fraud and money laundering charges

Triples 11

Malcolm Harris Was Sentenced To 42 Months In Prison
Malcolm Harris Committed Fraud Wire Fraud And Money Laundering Charges
Malcolm Harris Pocketed Money Intended To Be Bribes
Malcolm Harris Engaged In Scheme International Bribery Scheme
Malcolm Harris Acted As Agent Foreign Official-1
Keangnam Enterprises Co., Ltd. Attempted Sale 72-Story Commercial Building In Hanoi, Vietnam
Bahn And Ban Engaged In Conspiracy To Bribe Foreign Official-1
Bahn And Ban Paid Bribes Through Malcolm Harris
Bahn And Ban Used Corrupt Scheme To Induce Foreign Official-1
Harris Sent Emails Purportedly Sent By Foreign Official-1
Bahn And Ban Agreed To Pay $500,000 Upfront Bribe And $2 Million Bribe

View original DOJ press releasejustice.gov

Extracted body text (5,517c)

Press Release Fraudster Involved In International Bribery Scheme Relating To Korean Company’s Attempted Sale Of $800 Million Skyscraper In Vietnam Sentenced To 42 Months In Prison Thursday, October 5, 2017 Share FacebookLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. XLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. LinkedInLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the “external link” icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link. Email For Immediate Release U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York Joon H. Kim, the Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Kenneth A. Blanco, Acting Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice, announced that MALCOLM HARRIS was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos to 42 months in prison for wire fraud and money laundering charges arising from his role as a middleman in a corrupt scheme to pay millions of dollars in bribes to a foreign official (“Foreign Official-1”) of a country in the Middle East (“Country-1”). The bribes were intended to facilitate the sale by South Korean construction company Keangnam Enterprises Co., Ltd. (“Keangnam”) of a 72-story commercial building known as Landmark 72 in Hanoi, Vietnam, to Country-1’s sovereign wealth fund (the “Fund”) for $800 million. Instead of paying an initial $500,000 bribe to Foreign Official-1 as he had promised, HARRIS simply pocketed the money and spent it on himself. Acting Manhattan U.S. Attorney Joon H. Kim said: “Malcolm Harris schemed to bribe a foreign official, then double-crossed his alleged co-conspirators by pocketing the half-million dollars intended to be bribes. Harris’s international bribery and fraud scheme centered around a Korean construction company’s attempt to sell a 72-story skyscraper in Vietnam through corruption. This sentence and the prosecution of Harris and his co-conspirators, Joo Hyun Bahn, and Ban Ki Sang should send a message that if you bring international corruption to New York, you may very well find yourself in a Manhattan federal court being sentenced to significant time in a federal prison.” According to the Indictment to which HARRIS pled guilty, statements made during the plea and sentencing proceedings, and statements made at other court proceedings: From in or about March 2013 through in or about May 2015, HARRIS’s co-defendants Joo Hyun Bahn, a/k/a “Dennis Bahn” (“Bahn”), and his father Ban Ki Sang (“Ban”) engaged in an international conspiracy to bribe Foreign Official-1 in connection with the attempted $800 million sale of a building complex in Hanoi, Vietnam, known as Landmark 72. During this time, Ban was a senior executive at Keangnam, a South Korean construction company that built and owned Landmark 72. Ban convinced Keangnam to hire his son Bahn, who worked as a broker at a commercial real estate firm in Manhattan, to secure an investor for Landmark 72. Instead of obtaining financing through legitimate channels, Bahn and Ban engaged in a corrupt scheme to pay $2.5 million in bribes to Foreign Official-1, through HARRIS, who held himself out as an agent of Foreign Official-1, to induce Foreign Official-1 to use his influence to convince the Fund to acquire Landmark 72 for approximately $800 million. In furtherance of the scheme, HARRIS sent Bahn numerous emails purportedly sent by Foreign Official-1 and bearing Foreign Official-1’s name. In or about April 2014, following communications with HARRIS, Bahn and Ban agreed to pay, through HARRIS, a $500,000 upfront bribe and a $2 million bribe upon the close of the sale of Landmark 72 to Foreign Official-1 on behalf of Keangnam. Unbeknownst to Bahn or Ban, however, HARRIS did not have the claimed relationship with Foreign Official-1 and did not intend to pay the bribe money to Foreign Official-1. Instead, HARRIS simply stole the $500,000 upfront bribe arranged by Bahn and Ban, which HARRIS then spent on lavish personal expenses, including rent for a luxury penthouse apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. * * * In addition to the prison sentence, HARRIS, 53, of New York, New York, was sentenced to three years of supervised release and ordered to pay forfeiture of $500,000 and restitution of $760,148.57 to victims. Trial in Bahn’s case is scheduled to begin on February 5, 2018, before Judge Ramos. Ban is a fugitive believed to be residing in South Korea. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. Mr. Kim praised the outstanding investigative work of the International Corruption Squad of the FBI’s New York Field Office. Mr. Kim also thanked the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs for its ongoing assistance in this case. The case is being prosecuted by the Office’s Complex Frauds and Cybercrime Unit. Assistant United States Attorney Daniel S. Noble and Trial Attorney Dennis R. Kihm of the Fraud Section of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division are in charge of the prosecution. Updated October 5, 2017 Topic Financial Fraud Component USAO - New York, Southern Press Release Number: 17-324

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