Anatomy of a 'bribe'
After being pressed by bank investigators, DCDM cooperated with the inquiry, according to people familiar with the bank investigation. The company turned over its records, including documentation that $12,000 of the $15,000 in travelers' checks had been given to Pean by Idani.
Idani acknowledged he had been barred from doing business with the bank in October 2004, but denies acting improperly. He told U.S. News the he never served as an intermediary for DCDM to transmit any money to Pean. Idani said the money he received from DCDM was simply due as part of his consulting contract with the company. He says the money he gave to Pean was to repay a loan, nothing improper. "If Mr. Pean cashed a portion of these checks in the amount of $12,000, it is because I had given him the checks in return for money he had advanced me when I badly needed cash," he told U.S. News.
Robin Harel told U.S. News that DCDM fully cooperated with bank investigators, allowing them access to company files.
"We never gave a bribe to Pean. We never met Mr. Pean," he said. "Idani was a representative in this African region, but this arrangement was severed a long time ago." DCDM was never barred from the bank.
Wayne H. Rusch, a Washington-based lawyer who represents the company, told U.S. News that the bank sent the DCDM a letter saying it would not take any action against it.
Postscript: Idani now runs a technology consulting company out of Burkina Faso. A list of client references on his company's website includes the Peace Corps.
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