SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Ahmed Pervez Aarianpur, 36, of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, pleaded guilty today to bribing a public official of the United States, Acting U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
On September 11, 2014, a federal grand jury in Sacramento indicted Aarianpur for violating federal bribery laws, and a sealed warrant for his arrest was issued. Aarianpur was arrested on October 3, 2014, in Prague, Czech Republic. Aarianpur was extradited and flown to the United States on Friday, July 20, 2016.
According court documents, between July 2014 and September 2014, Aarianpur offered to pay a $90,000 bribe to a U.S. Air Force contracting officer stationed at Travis Air Force Base in order to secure a $1.4 million government contract for electronic door locks. By the terms of the contracts, the locks would need to be shipped to Travis Air Force Base for inspection. If the goods passed inspection, the military would then ship the goods to Afghanistan. Aarianpur operated primarily out of Dubai but met with undercover operatives in Prague, Czech Republic, to make an initial payment on the $90,000 bribe.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael M. Beckwith is prosecuting the case.
Aarianpur is scheduled to be sentenced on November 3, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. Aarianpur faces a maximum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.