In an effort to prosecute the chief executive of an oil company for overseas bribery, federal prosecutors put a wire on the company's general counsel and made him record a conversation at the CEO's Miami penthouse, according to just-released court documents.

After denying a move to suppress the conversation as evidence, U.S. District Judge Joseph Irenas on Monday made the transcript part of the public record in federal court in Camden, N.J. The discussion in December 2012 centered on a payment made to a state-controlled oil company in Colombia to secure a $39.6 million contract.

The court record also contains emails between the general counsel, Gregory Weisman, and other executives at PetroTiger Ltd. discussing the company's payment to a purported consultant through the man's wife. Weisman's attorney did not immediately return messages seeking comment Monday.