US: Exec charged with bribing Russian official in uranium deal

US authorities have charged a Maryland businessman with bribing a Russian official in an effort to win contracts to ship uranium to the US.

US prosecutors unsealed money laundering, foreign bribery and wire fraud charges against Mark Lambert, 54, in federal court in Greenbelt, Maryland, on Friday, January 12.

Lambert denies the allegations and plans to fight them in court, his attorney William Sullivan said during a pre-trial hearing.

Prosecutors allege Lambert, former co-president of a Maryland-based shipping company Transport Logistics International, bribed a Russian energy official through a series of shell companies in Cyprus, Latvia and Switzerland in exchange for contracts to ship nuclear fuel to US utilities.

The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act makes it a crime for businesses to bribe overseas officials to win business.

For decades, Washington and Moscow had an agreement that converted uranium from Russia’s nuclear stockpiles to civilian grade fuel, which was shipped to the United States for use in civilian power plants.

The charges are the latest chapter in a sprawling federal investigation into corruption involved in Russia’s sale of uranium into the United States.

Full Content: Law 360

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