On April 11, 2025, federal prosecutors in the Western District of Pennsylvania filed a notice informing the court of their intention to proceed to trial for a Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) case against coal executive Charles Hobson in connection with the alleged payment of bribes to Egyptian government officials. The notice was filed after President Trump issued an executive order on February 10, 2025, that paused all FCPA enforcement actions for a period of six months.
According to court documents, between approximately 2016 and 2018, Hobson worked for an unnamed company in various international sales positions, including as Vice-President of Appalachian Business, when he caused bribes to be paid to Egyptian officials with the state-owned and -controlled Al Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals. Several media outlets have reported that Hobson was working for Corsa Coal Corp. at the time of the alleged offenses. The bribes were allegedly paid in exchange for lucrative sales contracts and other business advantages from Al Nasr. In 2022, the Department of Justice reported that the scheme enabled Hobson to obtain approximately $143 million in coal contracts for his employer. According to the DOJ, Hobson and others paid commissions to a sales intermediary who delivered bribe payments to Al Nasr officials, and caused bribe payments to be transferred from a U.S. bank account to an account in the United Arab Emirates. Federal prosecutors also allege that Hobson secretly received kickbacks from the commissions paid to the sales intermediary.
For his role in the bribery scheme, Hobson has been charged with one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA, two counts of violating the FCPA, one count of conspiracy to launder funds, two counts of money laundering, and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the DOJ.
DOJ – Notice of Authorization | DOJ Press Release – March 31, 2022 | Indictment