Frédéric Pierucci

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Frédéric Pierucci
Born (1968-01-14) 14 January 1968 (age 56)
NationalityFrench
Alma materISAE-ENSMA, INSEAD, Columbia University
OccupationInternational sales executive
EmployerAlstom

Frédéric Pierucci (born 14 January 1968) is a French business manager and a former senior executive for Alstom, who was accused of willful blindness to corporate corruption by the United States Department of Justice[1] and was arrested and detained in the United States from 2013 to 2014. He is the author of the book The American Trap: My Battle to Expose America’s Secret Economic War Against the Rest of the World, an autobiography that chronicles his experience throughout the legal ordeal.

Pierucci's judiciary story is considered in France as an example of the hostage diplomacy and economic warfare waged by the United States government, including against its purported allies.[2] Indeed, Pierucci's arrest and imprisonment without bail in a maximum security prison in Rhode Island occurred while the American multinational conglomerate General Electric was negotiating to purchase Alstom's energy section, and he was released within a week of the settlement of the purchase. The resulting transaction gave an American company significant control over France's nuclear reactors and energy security.[3]

Education and career[edit]

Pierucci graduated from ISAE-ENSMA and INSEAD, and received an MBA from Columbia University.[4]

During the 2000s, he became marketing and sales director in the boiler division of Alstom, a large French transportation and energy company.[5]

Arrest, charges, plea and sentence[edit]

In 2009, Alstom's practices were starting to attract the attention of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). DOJ interest focused on suspicions that Alstom had violated the 1977 Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). This American law has extraterritorial scope in the sense that it deals with bribery of foreign public officials. Bribery of foreign public officials is a criminal offense not only in the United States, but also in France and all other parties to the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention. In addition, the DOJ takes what is often described as an "expansive" view of its jurisdiction in FCPA matters, meaning that a wide range of firms or individuals could fall within the scope of DOJ enforcement measures.[6][7]

Alstom attracted US jurisdiction by virtue of the fact that it was a US "Issuer" (basically, that it had some involvement as an issuer on US securities markets). Pierucci was subject to FCPA enforcement because he was vice-president of Global Sales at a Connecticut-based subsidiary of Alstom.[8]

In 2010, the DOJ opened an investigation into Alstom's commercial practices, focusing, in particular, on a 2003 deal in Indonesia worth US$118 million.[9] Alstom initially seemed to cooperate with the DOJ proceedings, but later refused to cooperate for several years.[10][11]

On 13 April 2013, Frédéric Pierucci was arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. He was accused of bribery of foreign public officials and conspiracy to bribe.[12] More specifically, he was accused of being instrumental in hiring consultants who were used to channel bribes to members of the Indonesian parliament and to officials of the state-owned electricity company in order to obtain a contract to provide power-related services.[8]

Immediately upon his arrest, he was invited to become an FBI informant inside Alstom, an offer which he refused. He was subsequently kept in custody and denied release on bail on the grounds that he was a flight risk (France has no extradition agreement with the United States).[13][14]

He was fired from Alstom on 20 September 2013, and thus stopped benefitting from their judicial assistance.[14][15]

He spent 14 months in high-security prison facilities while awaiting trial.[16] He was eventually able to secure bail after American friends provided guarantees. In September 2017, a Connecticut court condemned Pierucci to two years and a half in jail, including time spent awaiting trial.[17] He was released in September 2018.[18]

Aftermath[edit]

In April 2014, Pierucci learned that the energy section of Alstom was sold to the American company General Electric. This led him to conclude that his arrest, denial of bail, and continued imprisonment were part of a strategy of economic warfare and hostage diplomacy. He self-describes as an "economic hostage".[17][2] He eventually co-wrote a book about his experience, The American Trap.[19] France Inter adapted the book as a radio show and podcast.[2]

The government of France had initially blocked General Electric's acquisition of Alstom. But after Arnaud Montebourg's resignation as Minister of Economy, Industrial Renewal and Digital Affairs, he was replaced by Emmanuel Macron, who relented and approved the sale. Pierucci was released on bail during the same week as the purchase.[17]

Media organisations in France reported that this sequence of events correspond to a successful use of hostage diplomacy by the United States against France.[2][20] Other French sources asked why the same case was not handled by France's law enforcement authorities, since the criminal acts at issue are also illegal there.[21]

In 2020, Frédéric Pierucci tried to organise French investors to buy back Alstom's former nuclear energy assets from General Electric.[22] Arnaud Montebourg suggests the French government should lead the effort for strategic reasons.[23]

See also[edit]

Publications[edit]

  • Pierucci, Frédéric; Aron, Matthieu (2019). The American Trap. London: Hodder & Stoughton. ISBN 978-1-5293-2686-4.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Corruption: un Français arrêté aux USA". Le Figaro (in French). 16 April 2013. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Grangeray, Emilie (13 September 2020). "" L'Otage " : France Inter adapte l'affaire Alstom en podcast". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  3. ^ Collombat, Benoît (19 January 2018). "Guerre économique: comment les Etats-Unis font la loi". France Culture (in French). Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  4. ^ B.B. (13 July 2014). "Le cadre maudit d'Alstom". Le Journal du Dimanche (in French). Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  5. ^ de Ricqlès, Robin (16 October 2020). "Conférence : DSD reçoit Frédéric Pierucci [Le Piège Américain]". Dauphine Stratégie Défense (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Article: DOJ's Use of Expansive Legal Theories Broaden FCPA Jurisdiction". Quinn Emanuel Trial Lawyers. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan. 1 April 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  7. ^ Tarun, Robert W. (2010). "The FCPA's Expansive Jurisdiction". The Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Handbook (4th ed.). Chicago, Illinois: American Bar Association. pp. 57–69. ISBN 978-1-63425-155-6. Retrieved 21 April 2022 – via vLex.
  8. ^ a b "Foreign Bribery Charges Unsealed Against Current and Former Executives of French Power Company" (Press release). United States Department of Justice. 16 April 2013. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. ^ Le Billon, Véronique (17 November 2017). "Quand un cadre d'Alstom se retrouve en prison". Les Echos (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  10. ^ Gilguy, Christine (18 July 2019). "À lire : " Le piège américain " de F. Pierucci". Le Moci (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  11. ^ "Alstom Sentenced to Pay $772 Million Criminal Fine to Resolve Foreign Bribery Charges" (Press release). United States Department of Justice. 13 November 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  12. ^ "United States of America v. Frederic Pierucci, et. al". Foreign Corrupt Practices Act Clearinghouse. Stanford Law School. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  13. ^ Alstom : la France vendue à la découpe ? Frédéric Pierucci [EN DIRECT]. Thinkerview (in French). 8 July 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ a b Bellaiche, Anne-Sophie (16 January 2019). "L'éclairant calvaire de Frédéric Pierucci, lampiste et appât de l'affaire Alstom". L'Usine nouvelle (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  15. ^ Samama, Pascal (15 January 2019). "Un ex-dirigeant d'Alstom dénonce le "racket" de la justice américaine". BFM Business (in French). Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  16. ^ "Frédéric Pierucci, "sacrifié par Alstom, aujourd'hui je ne veux plus me taire"". Le Nouvel Économiste (in French). 15 February 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
  17. ^ a b c Pierucci, Frédéric; Aron, Matthieu (2019). Le piège américain (in French). Paris: JC Lattès. p. 396. ISBN 978-2-7096-6407-3.[pages needed]
  18. ^ "How the American takeover of a French national champion became intertwined in a corruption investigation". The Economist. 17 January 2019. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  19. ^ Baudet, Marie-Béatrice; Aeberhardt, Chloé (15 January 2019). "L'ex-cadre qui relance l'affaire Alstom". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  20. ^ Aron, Matthieu (17 January 2019), Comment un cadre français d'Alstom a servi "d'otage économique" aux Etats-Unis (in French), L'Obs, retrieved 24 July 2023
  21. ^ "Contre la corruption, y'ai pas de justice". Le Canard enchaîné (in French). 29 August 2012.
  22. ^ Aeberhardt, Chloé (15 February 2019). "Tombé pour Alstom, Frédéric Pierucci veut sauver l'industrie française". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  23. ^ Sylvia, Zappi (28 June 2019). "A Belfort, le revenant Arnaud Montebourg dénonce la " blessure nationale " d'Alstom". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 30 September 2020.
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