London-based banker Andre Ryjenko has been sentenced to six years in prison for his part in an $8m (£6.2m) bribery.
Mr Ryjenko was charged following a joint investigation by the Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit of the City of London Police, and the Philadelphia office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
He was found guilty of making $7.92m in illicit payments by referring unwitting clients of his employer, the Eurpean Bank of Reconstruction and Development, to a cohort in the USA.
Dmitrij Harder, from Huntingdon Valley Pennsylvania, was indicted in relation to the case and has pleaded guilty to facilitating corrupt payments.
The FBI found the pair established their criminal intentions in September 2007 when Harder told Ryjenko his company had been retained by a Russian oil company to obtain project financing.
Ryjenko abused his position to channel clients in the direction of Harder, offering him as a financial consultant, splitting subsequent consultancy fees.
The fraudsters downfall was sealed when the chief compliance officer of the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development contacted the City of London Police in February 2010, passing on an anonymous tip that Ryjenko was in receipt of corrupt payments.
Acting detective superintendent Peter Ratcliffe of the City of London Police’s economic crime directorate praised the work of his team and international collaboration.
“The result here today is testament to the hard work of our officers and wouldn’t have been possible without the outstanding cooperation with both the FBI and the EBRD in overcoming the substantial hurdles that occur when investigating international bribery cases.
"This sentence sends out the strong message that corruption by its corrosive nature will not be tolerated and will be vigorously investigated and prosecuted regardless of where or how it occurs.”
