A federal judge has dismissed the Securities and Exchange Commission’s civil lawsuit against two former executives of U.S. fund manager Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, finding that the SEC filed too late to seek damages for violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The company is accused of making bribery payments to high-level government officials in Africa in exchange for business.
In a 32-page opinion on July 12, U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis for the Eastern District of New York found that the SEC’s civil claims against Michael Cohen, who headed Och-Ziff’s European office, and Vanja Baros, an investment executive on Africa-related deals, were barred by the FCPA’s five-year statute of limitations.
