Maryland transportation exec accused of bribing Russian official

The former co-president of a Maryland transportation company that moved nuclear materials across the United States is accused of bribing an official at a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corp.

Mark Lambert, 54, of Mount Airy, Maryland, was charged in an 11-count indictment with charges ranging from violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to wire fraud.

The charges were unsealed Friday by the Department of Justice.

Lambert conspired to bribe Vadim Mikerin, a Russian official at JSC Techsnabexport, the sole supplier and exporter of Russian uranium. It serves nuclear power companies worldwide. The goal, the Justice Department alleges, was to secure new contracts with JSC Techsnabexport.

At least as early as 2009 and continuing through October 2014, Lambert conspired with others at his company to make corrupt and fraudulent bribery and kickback payments to offshore bank accounts connected to Mikerin, the Justice Department alleges. In order to conceal the bribes, Lambert and others prepared fake invoices, according to the indictment.

The indictment also alleges that Lambert and others, who were not named in the Justice Department’s announcement, to overbill JSC Techsnabexport by building the cost of the payments into their invoices.

In June 2015, Lambert’s co-president Daren Condrey pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and commit wire fraud. Mikerin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering involving violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.

Mikerin is currently serving a 48-month prison sentence and Condrey is awaiting sentencing.

The case is being investigated by the Department of Energy’s Office of Inspector General and the FBI. Law enforcement officials in Switzerland, Latvia and Cyprus assisted with the investigation, the Justice Department said.