As highlighted in this prior post, in October 2019, the DOJ announced that Cyrus Ahsani and Saman Ahsani (the former CEO and Chief Operations Officer of Monaco-based Unaoil) pleaded guilty in March 2019 to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA for their roles in a scheme to corruptly facilitate millions of dollars in bribe payments to officials in multiple countries.

The DOJ also announced that Steven Hunter (a former business development manager at Unaoil) pleaded guilty in August 2018 to one count of conspiracy to violate the FCPA.

As noted in the DOJ’s release, the Ahsanis were scheduled to be sentenced in April 2020 and Hunter was scheduled to be sentenced in March 2020.

However, this August 2022 post highlighted how the defendants still had yet to sentenced and wondered when sentencing would occur.

According to court dockets, sentencing of Cyrus Ahsani and Saman Ahsani was pushed back until October 2020, then February 2021, then September 2021, then December 2021, then June 2022, then December 2022, and then January 30, 2023. Each time sentencing was delayed, there were sealed filings on the court docket.

As highlighted in this prior post, Saman Ahsani was sentenced in January 2023 and the docket entry stated as follows:

“Minute Entry for proceedings held before Judge Andrew S Hanen: Sentencing held on 1/30/2023 for Saman Ahsani (1) as to Count 1 of the Indictment. The Court ruled on pending motions on the record. There being no objections to the PSR, the Court adopted the PSR and sentenced Defendant to the custody of the BOP for a term of 12 months and 1 day; 1 year SRT; no fine; $100 SA. The Court recommended that Defendant be permitted to return to his home country to serve his supervised release. The Court further recommended placement in the facility at Beaumont, Texas. The Defendant may self-surrender at a time and place to be determined by the BOP.”

When will Cyrus Ahsani and Hunter be sentenced?

According to court dockets, Cyrus Ahsani’s sentencing date was pushed back to August 21, 2023, then February 2024, then November 2024, then May 2025, then November 2025, and is currently set for May 18, 2026.

Ahsani’s most recent unopposed motion to continue sentencing (which the court granted) states:

As set forth in the prior motions, Mr. Ahsani has been cooperating with the Australian Federal Police (“AFP”) in their prosecution of David Savage and Russell Waugh in connection with Leighton Offshore Pte Ltd (the “Leighton Defendants”). Mr. Ahsani has already provided live testimony in those proceedings. The Australian prosecutors have now informed counsel that the trial of the Leighton Defendants is expected to be scheduled for the beginning of next year, at which time Mr. Ahsani will be called to testify again in person.

Continuing Mr. Ahsani’s sentencing and related deadlines will benefit both parties in this case, as well as the Australian government and the interests of justice. As stated in the prior motions, Mr. Ahsani wishes to continue fulfilling his commitment to the Australian government, and have his ongoing, truthful testimony considered by this Court at the time of sentencing. Testifying truthfully under oath in a foreign prosecution is a significant form of cooperation that should be fully weighed at sentencing.

This request is not made for purposes of delay, but to ensure that justice is done. Counsel for Mr. Ahsani has conferred with counsel for the United States, who has indicated that the United States is unopposed to this motion.”

According to court dockets, sentencing of Hunter was pushed back until October 2020, then January 2021, then May 2021, then September 2021, then December 2021, then July 2022, then December 2022, then February 2023, then September 2023, then March 2024, then December 2024, then December 2025, and is currently scheduled for June 1, 2026.  Each time sentencing has been delayed, there are sealed filings on the court docket.

In short, Cyrus Ahsani pled guilty over 6 years ago and still has not been sentenced. Hunter pled guilty approximately 7.5 years ago and still has not been sentenced.