The conviction of a Georgia business owner, for bribing Honduran officials and laundering money, underscores the ongoing enforcement of anti-corruption laws by U.S. authorities. Carl Alan Zaglin, 70, from Marietta, was found guilty by a federal jury in Miami on several charges, including violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Zaglin’s actions were part of an intricate scheme developed to secure over $10 million in government contracts in Honduras. He and his co-conspirators funneled hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes through various channels, attempting to mask the corrupt payments with terms like “commissions” and “fees.” Zaglin, the former owner of Atlanco LLC, catered to security agencies by supplying uniforms and other goods. Despite efforts to disguise the bribes with nicknames and sham agreements, communications through personal emails and encrypted apps did not evade detection by U.S. investigators.
The details of the trial were further illuminated in a report by the U.S. Department of Justice. Evidence presented at trial showed that Zaglin orchestrated the bribe payments to high-level officials within TASA, a Honduran governmental entity responsible for the procurement of supplies for national security agencies. The scheme, facilitated through third-party intermediary Aldo Nestor Marchena, involved multiple guilty pleas from Honduran officials who also partook in the illicit exchanges…