LOS ANGELES, July 18 (Xinhua) -- A South Korean man was convicted of laundering bribes from science and technology companies based in California and Britain.
Courthouse News Service reported Tuesday that 59-year-old Heon-Cheol Chi, former director of South Korea's Earthquake Research Center, was convicted by a jury after a four-day trial of one count of transacting in a criminally-derived property through U.S. banks, carrying a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison.
The case was filed on Dec. 14 of 2016 in the U.S District Court for the Central District of California. According to the indictment acquired by Xinhua, Chi was charged with six counts of money laundering based on his decision to funnel bribery proceeds through U.S. banks.
However, jurors in U.S. District Court could not reach verdicts on five other counts of money laundering on Monday.
Prosecutors said that from 2009 to 2015, Chi used his center position, which is part of the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, to solicit over one million U.S. dollars in bribes from two seismological companies.
Once he was paid, prosecutors said, Chi advocated for the purchase of equipment from both firms and advised other potential South Korean customers to buy the firms' technology as well. He also provided the firms with "inside" information, involving confidential information about their competitors and the bidding process at the institute.
"The defendant abused his public position as a director and principal researcher of a (South) Korean government research institute by demanding and receiving bribes in exchange for providing business advantages to two private companies seeking to do business in (South) Korea," the indictment wrote.
Chi once proposed a motion to dismiss the indictment, arguing that the foreign bribery offense underlying the money laundering charge must be a crime under the U.S. domestic bribery statute, but it was refused by the court.
"The American financial system is not to be used as a storehouse for the proceeds of corrupt activity," acting U.S. Attorney Sandra Brown told ABC news, "This conviction sends a message that should be heard around the world."
Chi will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John Walter in Los Angeles on Oct. 2.
