Shafaq news/ the US Department of Justice charges two people residing in Erbil, Kurdistan for bribing a government employee.

A statement posted on the Department of Justice website stated that "the two persons that own a company in Erbil are Mark Alan Friday, 37, and Lara Jumaa Muhammad 30."

He added that "Mark and Lara offered bribes to a US military official at Erbil Air Base in Iraq, in order to obtain contracts to supply goods and services to the US military forces there."

He continued, "The indictment indicates that the two persons offered, in early 2020, a bribequal to 20 percent of the value of any contract awarded to their companies, as well as the defendants' offer to give cash payment in advance in exchange for giving them a contract to supply equipment in late March 2020."

Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt. said, "This bribe was intended to undermine the Department of Defense's efforts to legally contract overseas."

And that "the Ministry of Justice will continue to work to protect the US military from corrupt and fraudulent behavior around the world."

It is noteworthy that the the Ministry of Justice was able earlier to prevent similar attempts, one of which took place in Kuwait last December, and the second in South Korea in May 2020.