Asem Elgawhary, the former principal vice president of Bechtel Corporation and general manager of the Power Generation Engineering and Services Company (PGESCo) [a joint venture between Bechtel and Egypt’s state-owned electricity company], was charged with defrauding his former employers, laundering the proceeds, and violating federal tax laws. The government alleged that, from 1996 to 2011, Elgawhary took more than $5 million in kickbacks from power companies in exchange for awarding them more than $2 billion in contracts. He also allegedly concealed the kickback scheme by hiding the payments in off-shore bank accounts, giving false information to Bechtel executives and PGESCo board members, and, with the help of other PGESCo employees, destroying evidence. In December 2014, Elgawhary pleaded guilty to mail fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and obstruction and interference with the administration of the tax laws. In March 2015, Elgawhary was sentenced to 42 months in prison and ordered to forfeit $5.2 million.