US Jails Honduran For Nearly 4 Years On $1.3Mln Money Laundering Scam - Justice Department

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 04th October, 2018) A Honduran citizen living in the United States has been jailed for almost four years after being convicted of a scheme to launder $1.3 million illegally gained in bribe payments in his home country, the US Department of Justice said in a news release.

"A Honduran man was sentenced in Federal court today to 46 months in prison for his role in a conspiracy to launder into the United States more than $1.3 million in foreign bribe payments and public funds from the Republic of Honduras," the release said on Wednesday.

On June 27, Carlos Zelaya, 47, a Honduran living in the New Orleans area, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, the Justice department said.

Zelaya agreed to forfeit his interest in over $1 million in real estate obtained through the scheme as part of his plea, the release noted.

According to admissions made in the plea agreement, Zelaya conspired with his brother, the former Executive Director of the Honduran Institute of Social Security, and others to launder over $1.3 million in bribe payments, the release also said.

The bribes were paid by two Honduran businessmen for the benefit of Zelaya's brother and were then laundered into the New Orleans area through international wire transfers and used to purchase real estate, according to the release.