James Giffen

James Henry Giffen (March 22, 1941 – October 29, 2022) was an American businessman and an authority on American-Soviet trade.^[1] He was the founder and chairman of Mercator Corporation.^[2] Giffen was the prime suspect accused in the $80 million Kazakhgate bribery scandal, which was at one time the largest U.S. investigations ever into an overseas bribery case; but which went nowhere.^[3][4]

James Giffen
Born	(1941-03-22)March 22, 1941 Stockton, California, U.S.
Died	October 29, 2022(2022-10-29) (aged 81) New York City, U.S.
Education	University of California (BA) University of California, Los Angeles
Occupation	businessman
Known for	Kazakhgate
Spouse	June Hopkins ​ (divorced)​
Children	2

Background

Giffen was born in Stockton, California, on March 22, 1941.^[2] He had ties to the USSR dating back to the 1970s. After graduating from college, he worked for a subsidiary of Armco Steel, developing a relationship with Armco boss and future US commerce secretary C. William Verity, Jr.^[5] During the Cold War, Giffen was instrumental in setting up the multi-company American Trade Consortium (including large corporations such as RJR Nabisco, Chevron, Eastman Kodak, Johnson & Johnson and Archer Daniels Midland) to negotiate entry into the Soviet market with representatives of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.^[6]

Kazakhgate trial

In the Kazakhgate trial, Giffen asserted that he was acting with the approval of the Central Intelligence Agency, which refused to release secret papers relating to these activities.^[7] His defense said Giffen had merely been following orders from the Kazakh government, which as a foreign state had the right to define legality according to its own views, and serving the interests of the United States.^[8]

Giffen eventually pleaded guilty to a tax misdemeanor and paid $25; the other charges, which could have carried a penalty of several decades in prison, were dropped.^[7] The case concluded in November 2010; U.S. District Judge William Pauley, who said he had been able to refer to classified documents that had not been made public in the trial, ordered neither prison time nor a fine for Giffen.^[8]

Personal life and death

Giffen died in Manhattan on October 29, 2022, at the age of 81.^[9]

Fictional Portrayal

The character Danny Dalton from 2005 film Syriana, played by Tim Blake Nelson, was loosely based on James Giffen.^[7]

Publications

Books

• The Legal and Practical Aspects of Trade with the Soviet Union. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, Inc. (1969). Introduction by U.S. Senator Walter F. Mondale.

Articles

• "Developing a Market Program for the U.S.S.R." Columbia Journal of World Business, vol. 8, no. 4 (Winter 1973), pp. 61–68. ISSN 0022-5428.
• "US-Soviet Trade: Political Realities and Future Potential," with Michael V. Forrestal. Columbia Journal of World Business, vol. 18, no. 4 (Winter 1983), pp. 29–35. ISSN 0022-5428.