A former executive of Corsa Coal Corporation has been convicted by a federal jury for his involvement in an international bribery and money laundering scheme related to coal supply contracts with Egypt. Charles Hunter Hobson, 50, of Knoxville, Tennessee, was found guilty for his role in paying bribes to Egyptian government officials to secure nearly $140 million in contracts for Corsa.
According to the Department of Justice, Hobson agreed to pay bribes to officials at Al Nasr Company for Coke and Chemicals, a state-owned enterprise in Egypt. The payments were made through supposed sales commissions and laundered via bank accounts in the United States and the United Arab Emirates. Hobson also received over $200,000 in kickbacks as part of the operation.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva stated: “Charles Hunter Hobson won business for his company by paying bribes — and he even took a cut for himself. Businessmen and companies that pay bribes to foreign government officials to win contracts undermine the rule of law and distort competition, which hurts American business interests worldwide. The Criminal Division will continue its commitment to vindicating our national interests by combatting foreign corruption in violation of U.S. law.”
U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti for the Western District of Pennsylvania commented: “Bribing officials of foreign governments to obtain business, and then laundering that money, is illegal, corrupts the global marketplace, and disadvantages law-abiding U.S. companies. Along with our law enforcement colleagues at the FBI and other agencies, we will continue to investigate and bring to justice defendants such as Charles Hobson who seek to enrich themselves while engaging in flagrant, fraudulent conduct.”
FBI Washington Field Office Assistant Director Darren Cox added: “Hobson used his leadership position at Corsa to bribe Egyptian government officials and secure millions of dollars in sales contracts for the company. Through this bribery scheme, he violated American and Egyptian laws and robbed law-abiding coal companies of the chance to compete for profits. His conviction is the latest result of the FBI’s work to investigate individuals who resort to corrupt practices to increase international business.”
Court documents showed that between 2016 and 2020 Hobson conspired with others using an intermediary based in Egypt who received more than $4.8 million labeled as sales commissions; these funds were used both as bribes for Egyptian officials—referred by Hobson as “the Team”—and as kickbacks paid back directly to him.
The jury found Hobson guilty on multiple counts including conspiracy under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), substantive FCPA violations, conspiracy and substantive counts of money laundering, as well as conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Each FCPA-related count carries up to five years imprisonment; each count related to money laundering or wire fraud conspiracy carries up to twenty years imprisonment. Sentencing will be determined by a federal district court judge after consideration of statutory factors.
Another former Corsa executive involved in this case previously pleaded guilty but has not yet been sentenced.
The FBI’s International Corruption Unit led the investigation along with prosecutors from both the Justice Department’s Fraud Section and U.S. Attorney’s Office for Western Pennsylvania handling prosecution duties.
More information about enforcement efforts under FCPA can be found at www.justice.gov/criminal/fraud/fcpa.
