FORMER PRESIDENT OF LIECHTENSTEIN CO. FOUND GUILTY OF RIGGING BIDS ON U.S.-FUNDED CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTS IN EGYPT

Company Pleads Guilty and Agrees to Pay $54 Million Fine

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A federal jury in Birmingham, Alabama today found Elmore Roy Anderson, former president of Bilhar International Establishment, guilty of one count of rigging bids on U.S.-funded construction projects in the Arab Republic of Egypt and one count of conspiring to defraud the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the Department of Justice announced. The company, Bilhar International Establishment of Liechtenstein, pleaded guilty and agreed to pay $54 million for its role in the bid-rigging conspiracy on February 4, 2002, the first day of trial.

On July 25, 2001, a federal grand jury indicted Bill Harbert International Construction Inc. (BHIC), of Birmingham, Alabama; its foreign affiliate, Bilhar International Establishment; and Bilhar's former president, Elmore Roy Anderson, for conspiring to rig bids and to defraud the USAID on more than $250 million of construction work on U.S.-funded projects in Egypt from May 1988 until September 1996.

As part of its commitments under the Camp David Peace Accords, the United States has funded, through the USAID, numerous construction contracts intended to foster stability and promote public health in the Middle East. In addition, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has funded substantial construction work in Egypt.

According to the terms of the plea agreement with Bilhar, the charges against BHIC will be dismissed, along with the conspiracy to defraud count against Bilhar.

Elmore Roy Anderson faces a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment and a $350,000 fine for violating Section One of the Sherman Act, the bid-rigging count. In addition, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, the conspiracy to defraud the United States count, carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine for individuals. The maximum fine for each count may be increased to twice the gain derived from the crime or twice the loss suffered by the victims of the crime, if either of those amounts is greater than the statutory maximum fine.

Anyone with information concerning bid rigging on U.S.-funded construction projects should contact the Antitrust Division's Atlanta Field Office at (404) 331-7100.

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