The SFO has today obtained £1,198,424.78 from Gogi Gill, the owner of a £4.25 million luxury apartment in West London that the SFO believed had been partially paid for using corrupt funds obtained through its owner's illegal activity.
The individual was linked to Brazil's "Operation Car Wash," which exposed widespread bribes to obtain contracts from the national oil corporation of Brazil. Gogi Gill acknowledged paying bribes while under investigation by Brazilian authorities in order to get contracts for the Dutch company for which he served as an agent. He has a cooperation arrangement with the Brazilian prosecutors after making a settlement payment of about US$54 million.
In response to Gogi's legal actions in Brazil, the SFO launched its own civil recovery investigation into the UK assets it believed were acquired using Gogi's unlawful earnings.
The focus of the SFO's inquiry was a £4.25 million luxury apartment at 8 Tasker Lodge as well as many Swiss bank accounts and offshore businesses that the agency thought contributed to the purchase of the West London property. According to the investigation, Gogi may have received funds from these accounts while he was serving as an agent in Brazil.