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Ex-Willbros executive in U.S. bribery charge


    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former executive and a former consultant for a subsidiary of energy-services firm Willbros Group Inc were indicted for paying $6 million in bribes to government officials in Nigeria and Ecuador, the Justice Department said on Friday.

    The department alleged that James Tillery, a former president of Willbros International Inc, and former consultant Paul Novak paid the bribes to secure gas-pipeline construction and rehabilitation business from state-owned companies in Nigeria and Ecuador.

    The four-count indictment charges the men with counts of conspiracy to violate the anti-bribery legislation and to launder money, and with two counts of authorizing corrupt payments.

    Willbros and its international unit entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in May agreed to pay a $22 million criminal penalty in connection with corrupt payments to Nigerian and Ecuadorean government officials. The company has been cooperating in the Justice Department's investigation, the department said.

    The department said the indictment was unsealed on Friday after Novak, whose U.S. passport had been revoked, was arrested upon returning to the United States from South Africa. Tillery remains at large. If found guilty, the two men could face prison sentences of up to 35 years.

    (Reporting by Randall Mikkelsen; Editing by Bill Trott)