A group operating in the U.S. and South Korea allegedly violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
NEW YORK-- Four men have been indicted on charges accusing them of violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act involving the attempted sale of an $800 million high-rise building in Vietnam, Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement this week.
Three of the defendants -- Dennis Bahn, Ban Ki Sang and Malcolm Harris -- have also been charged with money laundering, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. A fourth, John Woo, has been charged only with conspiracy to violate the FCPA.
For a little more than two years beginning in March 2013, authorities say Bahn and his father Ban attempted to bribe an unnamed foreign official in connection with the sale. The building was built and owned by Keangam, a South Korean company where Ban was a senior executive.
Keangam, in debt and needing to raise capital, hired Bahn at the behest of his father, authorities said. Bahn, who worked in New York as a broker for the building, known as Landmark 72, could have potentially earned millions in commissions from a successful sale, authorities said.
Bahn and Ban attempted to bribe the foreign official in exchange for the official convincing his Middle Eastern nation's sovereign wealth fund to purchase the property. Harris purportedly represented the official, authorities said.
Through Harris, Ban and Bahn agreed to pay a $500,000 bribe upfront to the official and an additional $2 million when the sale was completed, authorities said. Woo helped Ban and Bahn obtain the bribe money, authorities also said.
But Harris allegedly scammed the pair. Harris, who did not actually represent the official, instead spent the $500,000 on himself, including for rent at a luxury apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, officials said.
As Ban and Bahn spent the next year awaiting completion of the sale and Keangam's finances worsened, Bahn allegedly defrauded his firm's creditors into believing the sale of Landmark 72 was imminent. As part of that scheme, authorities say Bahn forged emails from the foreign official. Keangam eventually went into receivership.
Bahn, 38, of Tenafly, was arrested there this week. Woo, 35, of Edgewater, is also in custody. Ban, of South Korea, and Harris, of New York, remained at large Tuesday.
Paul Milo may be reached at pmilo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@PaulMilo2. Find NJ.com on Facebook.