FLORIDA
The former Bolivian Minister of Government was sentenced Wednesday to five years and 10 months in prison for conspiracy to launder bribes, according to officials.
He received the bribes in exchange for helping a U.S. company win a lucrative contract from the Bolivian government.
Arturo Carlos Murillo Prijic, 58, of Bolivia, pleaded guilty on Oct. 20, 2022, to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
According to court documents, Murillo received at least $532,000 in bribe payments from a Florida-based company in exchange for helping that company secure an approximately $5.6 million contract in 2019.
The contract was to provide tear gas and other non-lethal equipment to the Bolivian Ministry of Defense, officials stated.
Murillo and his co-conspirators laundered the proceeds of the bribery scheme through the U.S. financial system, including bank accounts in Miami.
Murillo received approximately $130,000 in cash bribe payments at a family member’s home in Miami,
Murillo’s co-conspirators – Sergio Rodrigo Mendez Mendizabal, Luis Berkman, Bryan Berkman, and Philip Lichtenfeld – previously pleaded guilty to their roles in the same scheme and were each sentenced in June 2022.
HSI’s Miami Field Office (Fort Lauderdale Unit) investigated the case.
Trial Attorney Jil Simon and Assistant Chief Gerald M. Moody Jr. of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli S. Rubin for the Southern District of Florida prosecuted the case.