The Justice Department plans to continue prosecuting cases involving alleged bribes by US executives of officials in Honduras and Egypt after undertaking a review of the actions in accordance with a Trump executive order.
The department will proceed to trial in both cases, prosecutors said in separate court filings submitted late Friday. The filings noted that the cases were both subject to a “detailed review” but did not explain how the DOJ reached the decisions.
The moves mean the department will continue prosecuting former coal company executive Charles Hobson, who was accused in 2022 of bribing Egyptian officials in connection with state contracts.
The department is also proceeding with a case brought in 2023 alleging three individuals, including Georgia businessman Carl Zaglin, orchestrated a bribery scheme to secure contracts to provide uniforms for the Honduran police force.
The DOJ revealed its plans just days after it told a Miami federal court that it planned to continue trying a separate overseas corruption case against executives at the voting machine company Smartmatic Corp.
A week earlier, the department dropped a case on the eve of trial against two former executives at Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. over alleged payoffs in India.
The fate of all four cases became uncertain due to a Feb. 10 White House executive order that paused enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and directed the DOJ to devise new enforcement guidelines.
Under the order, President Donald Trump also directed the department to review existing cases and investigations. Yet the decisions to proceed indicate the DOJ remains interested in pursuing FCPA matters.
Established in 1977, the law makes it illegal for companies with links to the US to offer payments or anything of value to foreign officials to win business overseas. Trump has complained about the law, claiming it can hurt US economic competitiveness and national security.
The cases are USA v. Zaglin, S.D. Fla., 1:23-cr-20454, notice filed 4/11/25 and USA v. Hobson, W.D. Pa., 2:22-cr-00086, notice filed 4/11/25
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