USADF Finance Director Agrees To Plead Guilty in Bribery Case

Mathieu Zahui, 59, the Director of Financial Management of the United States African Development Foundation, agreed to plead guilty to one count of accepting gratuities and one count of making a false statement, according to court documents.

Prosecutors allege Zahui arranged for USADF to pay at least $617,625.49 to a Kenya-based contractor, Company-1, through more than 20 pass-through invoices between June 2020 and December 2023, records show.

Assistant Attorney General A. Tysen Duva said in a Justice Department statement that Zahui abused his position to direct funds to a contractor, and Acting Assistant Inspector General Sean M. Bottary said the acts "betrayed the trust of the American people," officials confirmed.

Court documents state Company-1 retained $134,886.34 as markups on invoices that ranged from 17% to 66%, and Zahui accepted $12,000 in cash payments directly from a co-conspirator, according to prosecutors.

A federal district court judge will schedule Zahui's plea hearing and determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, and he faces maximum penalties of two years for the gratuities count and five years for the false-statement count, court filings state.