Kickback probe involving Petrobras ongoing for one year now
Run by Federal Police, the case known as “Operation Car Wash” has exposed a large kickback scandal involving money laundering, embezzlement, and bid rigging in Petrobras tenders
A year after the Federal Police launched Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato) to find out the truth about a huge kickback scandal involving a number of companies including Petrobras, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) has recently succeeded in recovering about $153 million out of the $643 million identified to have been embezzled from Petrobras.
As of the tenth phase of the case completed this week, the count is 64 arrest warrants were served and 19 criminal charges brought against 87 suspects. At least 52 politicians are being investigated for corruption and money laundering. These statistics are part of the latest report on the activities of the MPF taskforce dedicated to the case.
So far, 12 plea bargain deals have been signed by suspects who include currency dealer Alberto Youssef and former Petrobras Downstream director Paulo Roberto Costa.
Operation Car Wash was preceded by a 2009 probe on the involvement of then Congress Deputy under the Progressive Party (PP), José Janene, dead in 2010, in illegal dealings with money changers Alberto Youssef and Carlos Habib Charter. Charter owned a gas station and a car wash in Brasília, after which the case was named.
In 2013, Federal Police found out about four criminal organizations, all of them run by currency dealers. By monitoring the suspects, investigators traced up to Paulo Roberto Costa, who had been given a gift Land Rover car by Alberto Youssef.
Judge Sérgio Moro
This paved the way for investigators to find out based on plea bargain statements that top executives in contractors had been involved, forming a bid-rigging “club” to decide which companies would run for Petrobras tenders. These executives have been jailed for 120 days in a Federal Police unit in Curitiba, Paraná, where the court case is held, presided over by Judge Sérgio Moro.
In addition to the contractor leaders, the case has led to the arrest of the former Petrobras International boss, Nestor Cerveró, former Petrobras Services director Renato Duque, and Paulo Roberto Costa, who was granted a partial imprisonment benefit for having tipped off police on the case and is now serving house arrest. According to the investigation, PP, PT and PMDB were the main political parties benefited with the funds embezzled from overpriced contracts with Petrobras, but the parties denied receiving any illegal payments.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Kickback probe involving Petrobras ongoing for one year now
