A New Jersey-based commercial real estate broker agreed to pay $225,000 in disgorgement to settle SEC charges arising out of the attempted bribery of a foreign official. The broker pleaded guilty in January 2018 to violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act ("FCPA") in connection with efforts to broker the sale of a commercial building in Vietnam.
The SEC alleged that the respondent, while acting as a broker for Colliers International Group Inc. ("Colliers"), a foreign private issuer, violated anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and violated the books and records provisions of the Exchange Act. According to the SEC Order, in his attempt to pay a $500,000 bribe to an official at a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund to influence the sale of the Vietnamese property, the broker (i) evaded Colliers' internal accounting controls, (ii) created fake e-mail messages and documents, and (iii) lied to Colliers' executives.
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