Brooklyn judge sentences ex-Vitol trader to 48 months over Ecuador, Mexico bribery schemes

A federal judge in Brooklyn sentenced former Vitol Inc. energy trader Javier Aguilar to 48 months in prison for his role in two interrelated schemes to bribe Ecuadorian and Mexican government officials, the Justice Department announced.

U.S. District Judge Eric N. Vitaliano also ordered Aguilar to pay approximately $7.13 million in criminal forfeiture and a $100,000 fine, according to the department. Restitution will be determined at a later date. 

Aguilar will be deported to Mexico after he completes his prison term, the department said.

A jury convicted Aguilar in February 2024 of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and of violating the law in connection with the Ecuador scheme. It also convicted him of conspiracy to commit money laundering tied to both the Ecuador and Mexico schemes. He later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the FCPA and the Travel Act in connection with the Mexico scheme, which involved officials at PEMEX Procurement International, a wholly owned affiliate of Mexico’s state-owned oil company, PEMEX.

According to the Justice Department, Aguilar worked in Vitol’s Houston office from 2015 to 2020. He and his co-conspirators agreed to bribe senior Ecuadorian officials to obtain a $300 million contract to purchase fuel oil for Vitol, the department said. The group used a Middle Eastern state-owned entity to circumvent Petroecuador’s restrictions on contracts with private companies. In exchange for promised and paid bribes, the Ecuadorian officials ensured that the entity and Vitol were awarded the contract, according to the department.

Prosecutors said Aguilar and his co-conspirators concealed the scheme with fake contracts, sham invoices and shell entities incorporated in Curacao, Panama and the Cayman Islands. Aguilar also used alias email accounts to communicate with co-conspirators.

Evidence at trial showed he used the same system of shell entities and sham invoices to launder approximately $600,000 in bribes to two PEMEX Procurement International officials to obtain contracts for Vitol to supply hundreds of millions of dollars of ethane gas to PEMEX, according to the department.

U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella Jr. of the Eastern District of New York said the sentence “sends a powerful message of deterrence” to those tempted by similar schemes. Assistant Attorney General Tysen Duva of the Criminal Division said the case shows corrupt actors will be “brought to justice and punished accordingly.” FBI Miami Special Agent in Charge Brett Skiles said the sentencing underscores the bureau’s commitment to dismantling complex bribery schemes.

Seven of Aguilar’s co-conspirators, including three foreign government officials, have pleaded guilty and agreed to forfeit more than $63 million in proceeds from the schemes, the Justice Department said.

Vitol admitted in December 2020 to bribing officials in Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil and entered a deferred prosecution agreement. It agreed to pay a combined $135 million in penalties in a coordinated resolution with the Justice Department, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Brazilian authorities, the department said.

FBI Miami’s International Corruption Squad investigated the case.