Federal authorities have accused a Maryland man of bribing a Russian atomic energy official to help secure contracts for transporting nuclear fuel.

The Justice Department on Friday said 54-year-old Mark Lambert of Mount Airy was charged with violating the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and related counts.

Lambert was co-president of a firm that transported nuclear materials to power companies in the U.S. and abroad. He allegedly took part in a scheme to bribe Vadim Mikerin, an official at a subsidiary of Russia’s State Atomic Energy Corporation. It exports the country’s uranium.

William Sullivan, Lambert’s attorney, told The Frederick News Post that they “categorically reject the charges and are eager to dispute and defeat them in court.”

Mikerin and the firm’s other co-president, Daren Condrey, previously pleaded guilty to similar charges.

(AP)