On September 22, 2020, Javier Aguilar was indicted for conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and conspiracy to commit money laundering in connection with his alleged participation in a five-year scheme to pay and conceal bribes to Ecuadorian officials. Although the indictment does not name Aguilar’s employer, it has been widely reported that he worked for Vitol at the time.
According to court documents, between March 2015 and July 2020, Aguilar, a citizen of Mexico who resided in the US, and his co-conspirators used sham consulting agreements and invoices to pay approximately $870,000 in bribes to intermediaries and offshore shell companies, knowing that such payments would be used to bribe Ecuadorian government officials, including officials at Empresa Publica de Hidrocarburos del Ecuador (Petroecuador).
US Dept of Justice Press Release | US Dept of Justice Complaint