Securities Regulation Daily Wrap Up, ENFORCEMENT—D. Conn.: Oil trader sentenced to 15 months in prison for bribery scheme involving Brazilian government officials, (Dec 12, 2025)

By Kristin J. Angelino, J.D.

According to court documents, the Connecticut-based trader paid over $1 million in bribes to officials at Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company in exchange for inside information.

Former senior oil and gas trader Glenn Oztemel, of Westport, Connecticut, was sentenced to 15 months in prison for his role in a nearly eight-year long scheme to bribe Brazilian government officials and to launder money to secure business for two commodities trading companies where he worked--Arcadia Fuels Ltd. (Arcadia) and Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint). Oztemel also was ordered to pay a $300,000 fine. A judgment of forfeiture is to be determined (U.S. v. Oztemel, No. 3:23-cr-00026-KAD (D. Conn. Dec. 10, 2025)).

Following a three-week jury trial, Oztemel was previously convicted in September 2024 of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA); conspiracy to commit money laundering; three counts of violating the FCPA; and two counts of money laundering.

Other participants in the bribery and money laundering scheme were the defendant’s brother, Gary Oztemel, the owner and president of Oil Trade & Transport S.A. (OTT), and Eduardo Innecco (Innecco), who worked as an agent for Arcadia, Freepoint, and OTT. According to evidence presented at trial, from at least 2010 to December 2018, the defendant and his co-conspirators participated in a scheme to bribe officials at Brazil's state-owned oil and gas company Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras), including a Houston-based Petrobras trader, Rodrigo Berkowitz.

In exchange for the bribes, Berkowitz and other foreign officials at Petrobras provided the defendant and his co-conspirators with inside information related to Petrobras’ business—including competitor bids and confidential pricing information from other U.S. companies—that gave Arcadia and Freepoint a competitive advantage in winning lucrative fuel oil contracts from Petrobras.

According to court documents, Oztemel caused Arcadia and Freepoint to pay bribes in two ways: (1) most commonly, through corrupt payments—disguised as purported consulting fees and commissions—made to Innecco, who would then pay a portion of those funds to Brazilian officials; and (2) the defendant and his brother caused bribes to be paid from OTT’s profits on back-to-back trades between Freepoint, OTT, and Petrobras.

Code names and burner phones. In order to conceal their fraudulent scheme, Otzemal, Innecco, and their co-conspirators used coded terms like “breakfast” and “freight deviation” to refer to the bribes. For example, in an email to the defendant with the subject line “maintaining the goodwill,” Innecco stated, “May I remind you of requested increase for 5 additional breakfast servings after first table set up, which already occurred.”

The parties also communicated using personal and alias e-mail accounts, encrypted messaging applications, disposable phones, and used fictitious names for themselves like “Spencer Kazisnaf” and “Nikita Maksimov.” In addition, the parties engaged in sham negotiations to give the appearance of legitimacy to trades between Freepoint and Petrobras.

Sentence. Oztemel was sentenced to 15 months in prison and ordered to pay a $300,000 fine. The amount of forfeiture is to be determined, although the government has requested the amount of $7,829,671.

The DOJ had requested a prison sentence of seven to ten years for Oztemel, arguing that it would be “commensurate with the serious nature of [defendant’s] extensive, deceptive, and deliberate criminal conduct,” as well as “his role as one of the leaders and organizers of the international bribery scheme.”

Oztemel requested [a sentence of home incarceration and community service in lieu of prison, arguing that “In its sentencing sumission, the government mischaracterize[d] the facts and defense arguments at almost every turn.” He further argued that a non-prison sentence would not mean he avoided punishment, since “the repercussions for [defendant] have been, and will continue to be, severe, regardless of any term of imprisonment.”

Freepoint. In a related matter, in December 2023, Freepoint admitted to bribing officials in Brazil in violation of the anti-bribery provisions of the FCPA and entered into a deferred prosecution agreement (DPA) with the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut. As a part of the DPA, Freepoint agreed to pay more than $98 million in criminal penalties and forfeiture.

The case is No. 3:23-cr-00026-KAD.

Judge: Dooley, K.

Attorneys: Allison L. McGuire, U.S. Attorney's Office for U.S. Audrey A. Felsen (Koffsky & Felsen, LLC) for Glenn Oztemel.

Companies: Arcadia Fuels Ltd. (Arcadia); Freepoint Commodities LLC (Freepoint); Oil Trade & Transport S.A.

LitigationEnforcement: FinancialIntermediaries Enforcement FraudManipulation