Javier Aguilar, a former Vitol trader, was sentenced to four years in prison by US District Judge Eric Vitaliano in Brooklyn, New York, for two foreign bribery schemes. A jury found him guilty of paying over $1 million in bribes to Latin American officials to secure more than $500 million in business for Vitol. He later pleaded guilty to a separate case involving a Houston-based subsidiary of Mexico's state-owned oil company.

Prosecutors called it a five-year scheme involving intermediaries, shell companies, and six co-conspirators. Vitol paid $75 million to buy out his shares after his trial. Vitaliano imposed a $100,000 fine and ordered $7 million in forfeitures, with prison surrender set for Jan. 4, 2027.

Restitution will be determined later. Vitol itself admitted in 2020 to bribing officials in Ecuador, Mexico, and Brazil, paying over $160 million in penalties.