Mexico arrests 2 Chinese execs on bribery charges

Mexico City, Agency
Two top executives of a Chinese company were arrested in Mexico on charges they tried to bribe employs of state-owned Petroleos Mexicanos to obtain discounts on the purchase of polyethylene, authorities here said Tuesday.

The president of Foshan Meijiao Plastic Trading Co., Ltd, Zili Tao, and the firm's representative in the United States, Xiaoting Liu, were detained by federal police, Mexico's Public Administration Department, or SFP, said.

The attempted bribery was reported by the Pemex employees involved in negotiations with Foshan.

On Nov. 30, according to the SFP, the Foshan executives gave two employees of Pemex foreign sales subsidiary PMI Comercio Internacional "a total of $3,000 (in cash) hidden among documents with information about the Chinese company."

The PMI employees immediately reported the incident to Pemex management and last week gave sworn statements to the Mexican Attorney General's Office.

During a meeting Monday in Mexico City, the Chinese executives offered to pay the two PMI employees anywhere from $25,000 to $60,000 a month for contracts allowing Foshan to buy polyethylene from Pemex at a discount, the SFP said.

The SFP brought a criminal case in May against a Pemex official accused of acts of corruption that cost the state oil giant $13 million.