The following description is based on the allegations made in the indictment.
Group DF Limited ("Group DF"), a company organized under the laws of the British Virgin Islands, was an international conglomerate of directly and indirectly owned companies. One of the companies under the Group DF umbrella was Bothli Trade AG, a company organized under the laws of Switzerland. In about April 2006, Bothli Trade AG entered into a memorandum of understanding with the State Government of Andhra Pradesh in India in which Bothli Trade AG and the State Government of Andhra Pradesh agreed to set up a joint venture for the purpose of mining various minerals within Andhra Pradesh, including ilmenite, a mineral which can be processed into various titanium-based products such as titanium sponge (the "project").
Dmitry Firtash, also known as "Dmytro Firtash," and "DF," exercised control over Group DF, and he was the leader of an alleged criminal organization referred to as the "Enterprise" in the Indictment. The Enterprise was composed of group of individuals consisting of Firtash and fellow defendants Andras Knopp, Suren Gevorgyan, Gajendra Lal, Pertysamy Sunderalingam, and K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, and according to the Indictment, the purposes of the enterprise included but were not limited to providing income for certain of its members through illegal activities. In his capacity as leader of the Enterprise and controller of Group DF, Firtash caused, among other things, the direct and indirect participation of certain Group DF companies in the project.
Andras Knopp occupied a supervisory role in the enterprise. Knopp supervised and directed the activities of others employed by and associated with the enterprise, including but not limited to co-defendant Gajendra Lal. Knopp, along with Firtash, was consulted in connection with major decision making relating to the project, including significant action taken with respect to the payment of bribes to Indian public officials.
Suren Gevorgyan served the enterprise by, among other things: (i) traveling to Seattle, Washington, and meeting with personnel from Company A concerning the potential supply of titanium products to Company A; (ii) signing documentation to make it falsely appear that money transferred for the purpose of paying bribes was transferred for legitimate commercial purposes; (iii) monitoring the total amount of bribe payments made; and (iv) coordinating transfers of money to be used to bribe Indian public officials.
Gajendra Lal, also known as "Gaj," served the enterprise by, among other things: (i) providing status reports concerning efforts to obtain licenses for the project; (ii) monitoring the total amount of bribe payments made; (iii) seeking Firtash and Knopp's authorization to pay additional bribes; (iv) recommending what course of action to take on the project, including whether and in what manner to pay certain bribes to Indian public officials; (v) causing the preparation of documentation to make it falsely appear that money transferred for the purpose of paying bribes was transferred for legitimate commercial purposes; and (vi) coordinating transfers of money to be used to bribe Indian public officials.
Periyasamy Sunderalingam, also known as "Sunder," served the enterprise by, among other things: (i) meeting with co-defendant K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao for the purpose of determining the total amount of bribes to be paid to Indian public officials in return for approval of the licenses required for the project, and advising other enterprise members of the results of the meeting; (ii) identifying various foreign bank accounts held in the names of nominees outside of India that could be used to funnel bribe payments to Rao; and (iii) monitoring the total amount of bribe payments made.
K.V.P. Ramachandra Rao, also known as "KVP," and "Dr. KVP," served the enterprise by, among other things: (i) abusing his position as an official of the State of Andhra Pradesh and close advisor to Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy to solicit bribes for Indian public officials, including himself, in return for approval of licenses for the project; (ii) agreeing to accept bribe money, including bribe money for his own benefit, in return for the approval of licenses for the project; and (iii) warning fellow enterprise members concerning the threat of a possible law enforcement investigation of the project. In the Indictment, Rao was a defendant on the racketeering counts but not the FCPA count.
June 20, 2013, the DOJ filed a five count indictment in the Northern District of Illinois against Firtash, Knopp, Gevorgyan, Lal, Sunderalingam, and Rao alleging various racketeering and money laundering charges as well as one count of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA. According to the Indictment, Firtash, Knopp, Gevorgyan, Lal, and Sunderalingam conspired to pay Indian officials, including Rao, $18.5 million in bribes in order to secure the contracts for the project, which had an estimated value of $500 million. There were 56 transfers of money from the Enterprise to Indian officials as part of the bribery scheme from 2006 to 2010.
Firtash was arrested in Austria, but released on bail. The DOJ is trying to extradite him to face charges in the United States. On April 30, 2015, an Austrian court concluded that U.S. charges against Dmitri Firtash were politically motivated and refused to order extradition to the U.S. An appeals court in Austria overturned the lower court ruling, which opened the door for Firtash's extradition to the U.S. to go forward. However, according to media reports, as of February 2017, the extradition was on hold because Firtash had been arrested in Austria on organized crime charges in Spain.
Both Firtash and Knopp have filed motions to dismiss their indictments, though neither defendant is in custody in the U.S. Firtash and Knopp updated their memoranda in support of their motions to dismiss on August 27, 2018, citing the recent decision from the Second Circuit in the Hoskins case. On June 21, 2019, the court denied their motion to dismiss.
All the other defendants appear to remain fugitives. This case is ongoing.
