curities fraud charges against him should be tossed because they don't apply to foreign transactions. In Miami on Oct. 15, former financial adviser Frank Chatburn Ripalda is set to face nine criminal counts, including conspiracy, FCPA violations and money laundering, over alleged schemes to bribe PetroEcuador officia

dants' cases. De la Paz is at least the seventh defendant to plead guilty in the US in relation to the scheme. One defendant charged in the scheme, Frank Chatburn Ripalda, has pleaded not guilty — to violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. He is scheduled to face trial in September. Two other Florida business