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A former NATO procurement official and a Turkish defense contractor face federal charges for allegedly operating a years-long bribery scheme that manipulated construction contracts with the U.S. military and NATO, the Justice Department announced Saturday.
Bahadir Hatipoglu, 50, a Turkish national who owns construction companies and resides near Klaipeda, Lithuania, and Ralf Grywnow, 70, a German national and former NATO procurement official who lives in Zagransk, Poland, were arrested pursuant to provisional arrest warrants. Both men are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and four counts of wire fraud in an indictment unsealed in the District of Columbia.
According to the indictment, Hatipoglu allegedly bribed Grywnow with cash, a romantic encounter with a woman in Dubai, and assistance constructing and furnishing a house in Poland. In exchange, prosecutors allege Grywnow provided Hatipoglu's companies with falsified reviews that favorably appraised their work with NATO, helping Hatipoglu secure contracts with the U.S. military.
The indictment alleges Grywnow gave Hatipoglu preferential treatment in overseeing contracts his companies held or sought with NATO and provided confidential information related to bids for NATO construction contracts. The scheme allegedly spanned multiple years and involved contracts with both NATO and U.S. military installations.
NATO is a military alliance of which the United States is a member nation. The organization regularly awards construction and infrastructure contracts to private companies for work at military facilities across Europe and other regions where NATO maintains a presence.
Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva of the Justice Department's Criminal Division said the alleged conduct "tainted construction contracts with the U.S. military and our allies." He emphasized that "integrity in federal contracting is vital to ensuring a fair competitive process and protecting the public fisc."
Special Agent in Charge Stanley A. Newell of the Defense Criminal Investigative Service's Transnational Operations Field Office stated that the agency is "committed to pursuing those who exploit the American taxpayer" and works to protect "the integrity of the U.S. military procurement system."
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The Justice Department is working with Lithuanian and Polish authorities to extradite both defendants to the United States. Each man faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted on any of the charges.
The investigation involved the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, the Department of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, and the FBI. Polish and Lithuanian authorities provided assistance pursuant to legal assistance treaties with the United States.
Trial attorneys from the Criminal Division's Fraud Section are prosecuting the case with assistance from the Justice Department's Office of International Affairs and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Mississippi.
The Justice Department noted that an indictment is merely an allegation and both defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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