USA / HAITI – Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the former president of the Haitian Chamber of Deputies Gary Bodeau (Bodeau), pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818, for his extensive involvement in corruption in Haiti. E.O. 13818 builds upon and implements the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act and targets perpetrators of serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world.
“Corrupt officials like Bodeau have created an environment that empowers illegal armed gangs and their supporters to inflict violence on the Haitian people,” said Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson. “Along with our partners, including Canada, we are committed to holding accountable those undermining the integrity of Haiti’s government and destabilizing the country.”
Today’s action follows a December action in which OFAC designated two Haitian politicians, Rony Celestin and Richard Fourcand, for abusing their power to further drug trafficking activities in the region. Bodeau has also been sanctioned by Canada. Treasury will continue to take action to hold to account individuals who are responsible for instability in Haiti.
OFAC is designating Bodeau pursuant to E.O. 13818 for being a foreign person who is a current or former government official, or a person acting for or on behalf of such an official, who is responsible for or complicit in, or has directly or indirectly engaged in, corruption, including the misappropriation of state assets, the expropriation of private assets for personal gain, corruption related to government contracts or the extraction of natural resources, or bribery.
Bodeau was involved in several corrupt schemes wherein he engaged in efforts to influence the outcome of Haitian political appointments, including facilitating and soliciting bribes worth millions of dollars. In 2018, Bodeau paid Haitian officials to secure their votes while seeking ministerial position appointments. He also solicited a large bribery payment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars from senior government officials in exchange for his political support.
In 2019, Bodeau offered to deliver a successful vote in Haiti’s Chamber of Deputies for a prospective ministerial appointee in exchange for millions of dollars paid out through individual payments to members of the Chamber of Deputies. Several Haitian businessmen provided between 500 and 600 million Haitian gourdes (approximately $6.2-$7.4 million) to members of the Chamber of Deputies to influence the outcome of a ministerial vote. In advance of the floor session, Bodeau participated in discussions on the vote and payments with various members of the Chamber of Deputies.
