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The Face Of A Fugitive

He's the only FCPA fugitive with his own wanted poster. That's how we know Frerik Pluimers is a big guy -- six three, two hundred thirty-five pounds. Brown hair, brown eyes. Born September 30, 1946. Netherlands passport number W118268941. Indicted in April 1998, when he was president and CEO of New Jersey-based Saybolt International -- charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the Travel Act, aiding and abetting and conspiracy. He was in Rotterdam, Holland when indicted and didn't come back to the U.S. to face prosecution.

A decade passed with no sign of Pluimers. Then, in March 2008, a Washington, D.C. lawyer appeared on his behalf. The lawyer, J. Sedwick Sollers, III, had some big news. His client, he said, was "scheduled to appear before the Court for arraignment, guilty plea and sentencing on March 28, 2008."

What happened next? Nothing. There's no record of Pluimers appearing in court on that day or any other. In fact, there's nothing in the docket after Sollers' notice. Pluimers had said, through the lawyer, that he'd be there. But he never showed up. Strange.

And about Pluimers' wanted poster. It's not from the Justice Department or the FBI, as you'd expect in an FCPA case, but the Environmental Protection Agency. Why the EPA? Here's what we know.

In the mid-1990s, Pluimers' former company, Saybolt, falsified results for gasoline it tested by understating lead emissions. In January 1999, the company pleaded guilty in U.S. federal court to conspiracy to violate the Clean Air Act and wire fraud. It paid a $4.9 million fine and spent five years on probation. A former Saybolt vice president, Thomas M. Hayes, was also convicted under the Clean Air Act and sentenced to 57 months in prison.

While digging into Saybolt, the EPA?s Criminal Investigation Division had discovered a $50,000 bribe in 1995 to a Panamanian government official. In exchange for the bribe, Saybolt won tax concessions and access to a prime business location along the Panama Canal. Indicted in 1998 for the bribe were Pluimers, along with his colleague David H. Mead. Mead went to trial and was found guilty. He served four months in prison and paid a $20,000 fine (here). But Pluimers ran.

Why, though, is the EPA after him? His indictment relates only to the Panama bribe. That's not the EPA's turf. So maybe there's something more. Maybe the EPA also indicted him along the way for criminal violations of the Clean Air Act, but decided to keep the indictment sealed until the day of his arrest, which hasn't come yet.

The lawyer who said in March 2008 that Pluimers would turn himself in defends both environmental and FCPA cases. Was Pluimers ready to cut a deal with the DOJ and EPA? Looks like it. Did something or someone spook him at the last minute? Could be. Whatever happened, Frerik Pluimers, the man on the wanted poster, is still an FCPA fugitive.

Download the U.S. EPA / CID Wanted Poster of Frerik Pluimers here.

Download the March 24, 2008 Notice of Appearance: J. Sedwick Sollers, III, appearing for Frerik Pluimers in USA v. MEAD, et al , U.S. District Court District of New Jersey, Case No.: 3:98-cr-00240-AET-2 here.

A special thanks to Cody Worthington in Washington, D.C. for his research for this post.
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Full post as published by The FCPA Blog on September 08, 2009 (boomark / email).