KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – A former contractor for a recently completed U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) project in Afghanistan has been sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison and a $9,500 fine.

Noor Anwarzai, 36, was sentenced by Afghanistan’s Special Anti-Corruption Tribunal on April 8, 2013. The Tribunal found Mr. Anwarzai guilty of violating Afghan Penal Code Article 268, regarding embezzlement of funds and Article 310 regarding the forgery of official documents.

WASHINGTON – In the largest drug safety settlement to date with a generic drug manufacturer, Ranbaxy USA Inc., a subsidiary of Indian generic pharmaceutical manufacturer Ranbaxy Laboratories Limited, pleaded guilty today to felony charges relating to the manufacture and distribution of certain adulterated drugs made at two of Ranbaxy’s manufacturing facilities in India, the Justice Department announced today. Ranbaxy also agreed to pay a criminal fine and forfeiture totaling $150 million and to settle civil claims under the False Claims Act and related State laws for $350 million.

Contrack International Inc., a global design and construction company headquartered in McLean, Va., has agreed to pay $3.5 million to settle allegations that it submitted false claims in connection with U. S. Agency for International Development (USAID) contracts, the Justice Department announced today.

David Ostermeyer, who retired from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in 2012, will pay the government a $30,000 penalty to settle allegations that he participated in a matter in which he had a financial interest that conflicted with his duties when he was Chief Financial Officer of the agency, the Justice Department announced today.

The money was insured; there was no actual loss of U.S. taxpayer funds

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Afghan police working with American agents arrested an Afghan man on charges of stealing more than a half million dollars from an agricultural development fund supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The money was insured, and there was no actual loss of U.S. taxpayer funds.

A former employee of a U.S. contractor was indicted today in the Eastern District of Texas for allegedly soliciting and accepting bribes in exchange for his influence in awarding U.S. government-funded contracts in Afghanistan, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John Malcolm Bales of the Eastern District of Texas.

TRENTON, N.J. – The former president, chief executive officer, and chairman of the board of a New Jersey-based international engineering consulting company pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) with respect to billions of dollars in contracts over a nearly 20-year period, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Department of Defense Inspector General Jon T. Rymer will serve as the first lead inspector general for an overseas contingency operation. Chair Phyllis Fong, Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, made this designation for Operation Inherent Resolve on December 17, 2014, in accordance with Section 8L of the Inspector General Act of 1978, as amended.

WASHINGTON, DC — Catherine M. Trujillo, the Acting Deputy Inspector General for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has been appointed Associate Inspector General for the overseas contingency operation known as Operation United Assistance (OUA), the purpose of which is to help combat the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa, by Jon T. Rymer, Inspector General of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the Lead Inspector General for OUA.

Abuja, Nigeria – Today, the Unites States government, through the U.S. President’s Malaria Initiative (PMI) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), announced the launch of the “Make a Difference” hotline and reward program that will offer up to $10,000 (approximately two million naira) for information concerning the illegal distribution of stolen and falsified anti- malaria medication in Nigeria. The announcement came as the world health community marked World Malaria Day and World Intellectual Property Day.