US Hedge Fund Hit With $200Mln Bribery Fine to Win Government Investments

The Och-Ziff Capital Management Group has agreed to pay nearly $200 million in penalties for bribing officials to gain investments from sovereign wealth funds, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced in a press release on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Other bribes were paid to secure mining rights and corruptly influence government officials in Libya, Chad, Niger, Guinea and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the release noted.

"The illicit payments induced the Libyan Investment Authority sovereign wealth fund to invest in Och-Ziff managed funds," the release explained.

Och-Ziff and the related firm OZ Management agreed to pay $173.2 million in disgorgement plus $25.9 million in interest for a total of $199.1 million, according to the release.