The U.S. Department of Justice recently announced that John Christopher Polit, a former banker, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering for his role in the Odebrecht S.A. scandal, a multimillion-dollar international bribery and money laundering scheme in which Odebrecht admitted to paying bribes to government officials in 12 countries.
According to federal prosecutors, between approximately 2010 and 2018, John Polit helped his father, Carlos Ramon Polit Faggioni, the then-Comptroller General of Ecuador, launder bribe proceeds Carlos Polit received from Odebrecht between 2010 and 2015. The DOJ stated that John Polit hid his father’s bribe proceeds through a series of complex transactions made through Panamanian accounts of intermediary companies and through the use of Florida companies registered in the names of certain associates. The laundered funds were used to purchase and renovate real estate in South Florida and elsewhere and to purchase businesses, including restaurants and a dry cleaner, according to the DOJ. John Polit is currently scheduled to be sentenced on January 30, 2025.
In December 2016, Odebrecht, a Brazil-based construction conglomerate, pleaded guilty to conspiring to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) as part of a global resolution reached with U.S., Brazilian and Swiss enforcement authorities. In March 2022, Carlos Polit was indicted in the Southern District of Florida for soliciting and accepting more than $10 million in bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for using his official position to remove and not impose certain fines upon Odebrecht related to Ecuador-based construction projects. In April 2024, Carlos was convicted by a federal jury of one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of concealment money laundering, and two counts of engaging in transactions in criminally derived property for his role in the Odebrecht scandal. Carlos Polit was sentenced to 10 years in prison.
DOJ Press Release | Plea Agreement – John Polit| Factual Proffer – John Polit | DOJ Press Release – Odebrecht Resolution | DOJ Press Release – Carlos Polit Sentencing