A grand jury in Philadelphia charged Dmitrij Harder, 42, the former owner and president of Chestnut Consulting Group Inc.,with conspiracy, money laundering and violation of the Foreign Corrupt Pratices Act. According to the indictment, Harder and his associates paid bribes to senior official Andrey Ryjenko at the London-based EBRD between 2007 and 2009.
 The EBRD provided loans to two of Chestnut Group's clients, both oil and gas companies. It approved aUS$85 million investment and a US$106 million loan fora Russian company, and a US$40 million investment and US$60 million convertible loan for a company in the United Kingdom. The Chestnut Group allegedly made about US$8 million in fees from these services.
The EBRD is a development bank ownedby 64 countries, in conjunction with the European Union and the European Investment Bank. It was established in the aftermath of the Cold War to funddevelopment projects in emerging economies, particularly Eastern Europe.
The indictment alleges that Harder attempted to conceal the bribes by channeling US$3.5 million through five separate payments to Ryjenko's sister, Tatjana Sanderson, for fictitious consulting services.He also allegedly forged documents to justify the transactions. The Central Criminal Court in London, known as the Old Bailey, charged Ryjenko and Sanderson with taking bribes to favor Chestnut Consulting Inc., and transferring the funds from Harder to Sanderson’s bank accounts. According to the Court in London, Ryjenko and Sanderson are to stand trial on Sep. 14, 2015.
Bloomberg reports that, accordingto US attorney Zane Memeger, Harder faces a prison sentence of up to 190 years if convicted, as well as US$1.75 million in fines. He reportedly denies the charges and isto appear in court on Jan. 13.
Â
