Maersk, Tide Maritime Targeted in Petrobras Probe
Brazilian authorities on Wednesday targeted Maersk and other companies for allegedly paying bribes to get an edge in securing shipping contracts with state oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA, in the latest phase of a sprawling graft probe.Federal prosecutors said in a statement that Denmark's Maersk, the world's largest shipping company, was involved in allegedly paying $3.4 million in bribes related to 11 shipping contracts with Petrobras, worth 592 million reais ($141.07 million).Maersk was not immediately able to comment when contacted by Reuters.
Brazil Federal Police Investigate Greek Ship in Connection with Oil Spill
Brazil's federal police on Friday announced a potential breakthrough in the investigation into the causes of a mysterious oil spill that has baffled authorities and Brazilians for about two months.Police said they were investigating a Greek-flagged ship allegedly responsible for the oil spill, which they claim may have occurred about 700 km (420 miles) off the Brazilian coast between July 28-29 after the vessel made a stop in Venezuela.In a statement, federal police said they were carrying out search warrants at addresses linked to a company of Greek nationality.Brazilian authorities said they had also requested cooperation from international agencies…
As Mexico Oil Sector Sputters, Crime and Violence Rattle Industry Towns
Until recently, Edgar Barrera enjoyed a life many Mexicans could only hope for. In a few short years, the 36-year-old bookkeeper rose from handyman to white-collar worker at what seemed to be one of the most stable companies in Latin America: state-owned oil firm Pemex. Thanks to Pemex, Barrera met his wife, vacationed on the Mayan Riviera and envisaged a rewarding career without leaving his hometown in Tabasco, a rural state at the southern hook of the Gulf of Mexico where more than half the population lives on less than roughly $92 a month. Then everything changed.
Scramble to Protect Canada's Energy Companies Pipelines
Canadian energy companies and officials share intelligence, scour social media and send up surveillance drones but even so they say preventing a disruption to the country's vast pipeline network is near impossible and each side wants the other to do more. This week, five oil pipelines carrying Canadian crude were halted in the United States in an audacious act by protesters opposed to oil sands development and a proposed new pipeline in North Dakota. The coordinated attacks in isolated locations near the Canadian border sparked a flurry of exchanges among pipeline operators, police, Canada's national energy regulator and a U.S.
Monaco Raids Unaoil Offices Over Global Oil Corruption Probe
Monaco authorities raided the offices of Unaoil, an energy services company, and the homes of its directors after Britain asked for help investigating alleged corruption in the global oil industry. Monaco's government said on its website that it acted after receiving an urgent request for international judicial assistance in criminal matters from Britain's Serious Fraud Office (SFO). Unaoil directors were questioned by Monaco police on Tuesday and Wednesday, the government said. A joint report by Australia's Fairfax Media and the Huffington Post reported that the U.S.
Judge sends Lula Charges to Petrobras magistrate
Any decision to arrest Brazil's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva will be made by Federal Judge Sergio Moro, who oversees a sweeping investigation into kickbacks at state-run oil firm Petrobras and approved the detention of dozens of senior executives, a judge in Sao Paulo ruled on Monday. State prosecutors in Sao Paulo asked for an arrest warrant for Lula last week after charging him with money laundering and identity fraud for concealing ownership of a beachfront condo, in a process that had been separate from the investigation overseen by Moro in the southern city of Curitiba.
Enseda Shipbuilding & Surviving the Petrobras Crisis
Enseada Shipbuilding was established to build deepwater drillships for Petrobras. Seventy percent of the company is owned by a consortium composed of Brazilian companies, Odebrecht (50 percent), OAS (25 percent), UTC (25 percent), with the remaining 30 percent belonging to Japanese shipbuilding giant, Kawasaki Heavy Industry (KHI). With all the Brazilian shareholders involved in the Car Wash “Lava Jato” operation, investigating corruption and embezzlement schemes with Petrobras, Kawasaki is a key partner, as is it not only…
Petrobras' Pasadena Refinery Deal Could be Annulled
A Brazilian prosecutor said on Monday that new information turned up in the Petrobras corruption scandal that could lead to the annulment of the state-owned oil company's purchase of Pasadena Refining Systems Inc in Texas in 2006. Brazil's Federal Police on Monday began a new round of arrests and searches for evidence in the case that include seven former officials at Petroleo Brasileiro, as Petrobras is formally known, who are under investigation over alleged graft related to contracts for the company's Pasadena and Abreu e Lima refineries. Reporting by Anthony Boadle
Brazil Court Allows Lula Questioning in Petrobras Corruption Case
Brazil's Supreme Court authorized the questioning by Federal Police of ex-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as a witness in a broadening corruption case focused on state-run oil company Petrobras , a spokesperson for the court said on Friday. (Reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer; Editing by Chris Reese)
Brazilian Police Begin New Round of Petrobras Arrests
Brazilian police carried out on Monday a new round of arrests and search and seizure operations in the corruption probe involving state-run oil firm Petrobras, local media said. A former executive of engineering firm Engevix was arrested for allegedly paying bribes to officials at Brazil's state-run nuclear power firm Eletronuclear, according to Globo TV. Federal police also conducted seven search and seizure operations in the 19th round of the so-called Car Wash operation, Globo and newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo reported. A police spokesman was not immediately available to comment.
Brazil Arrests Former Government Minister
Brazil's federal police on Monday arrested former government minister Jose Dirceu, ensnaring the most senior member of the country's ruling party yet in a massive investigation into alleged corruption at state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA. Dirceu, chief-of-staff of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's administration between 2003 and 2005, was already under house detention for conducting a vote-buying scheme during Lula's Worker's Party government. Federal police received seven other arrest warrants and 26 search-and-seizure warrants in the latest round of the "Car Wash" operation that has roiled the administration of President Dilma Rousseff.
Brazil Corruption Probe Reaches Eletrobras
Brazilian federal police said on Tuesday they were completing two arrest warrants as part of a corruption investigation into Eletronuclear, a subsidiary of state-run electric utility Eletrobras. The investigation that had previously focused on graft at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA is investigating price fixing and cartel formation at the Angra 3 nuclear reactor, police said in a statement. Federal police called a press conference for 10 a.m. (1 p.m. GMT), to discuss the operation, which also included 23 search and seizure warrants in several cities including Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo.
Petrobras 2009 Braskem Deal Had Issues
Brazil's state-run oil firm Petrobras confirmed on Tuesday it had found irregularities in the approval of a 2009 contract to provide naphtha to petrochemical company Braskem SA and had reported the issue to public prosecutors. Petrobras, or Petroleo Brasileiro SA, said in a securities filing that it began investigating the contract based on plea deal testimony from former executive Paulo Roberto Costa and money changer Alberto Youssef in a sweeping graft probe. On Saturday, TV Globo reported that the two revealed a bribe paid by Braskem for a deal allowing it to pay below-market rates for naphtha, causing losses to Petrobras.
First Petrobras Scandal Convictions Announced
Three executives of Brazil's Camargo Correa group were convicted on Monday of money laundering, corruption and other charges, the first construction-industry executives to be sentenced in a giant price fixing and bribery scandal involving state-run oil company Petrobras. Dalton dos Santos Avancini, chief executive officer of Camargo Correa Construções e Participações SA, João Ricardo Auler, the company's chairman, and Eduardo Hermelino Leite, a senior executive, were all convicted of corruption and membership in a criminal organization. The ruling was handed down by Judge Sergio Moro of Brazil's Federal Court in Curitiba.
Another Former Petrobras Exec Arrested
Brazilian police have arrested Jorge Zelada, former head of Petrobras' international division, as part of an ongoing investigation into bribery and corruption at the state-run oil producer, a local newspaper reported on Thursday. Zelada is accused of money-laundering, appropriating public funds, corruption, tax evasion and contract fraud, Folha de S. Paulo newspaper reported. He was taken into custody early Thursday as part of the graft probe centered on Petrobras that has already ensnared several of Brazil's top executives.
Brazil Probe Pits Investigators Against Long-protected Elite
In a nation where the elite have enjoyed relative impunity, a new generation of police and prosecutors in Brazil are bent on using the country's largest-ever corruption investigation to send the message that no one is above the law. They have displayed in a local museum works of art seized in arrests in connection with alleged bribery at state-run oil firm Petrobras. They have also paraded lobbyists and chief executives in handcuffs before TV cameras. And they gave the moniker Operation 'Erga Omnes,' Latin for 'For everyone' to a raid that jailed one of the country's most powerful corporate scions, CEO Marcelo Odebrecht.
Brazil CEO Arrested in Petrobras Graft Probe
Brazilian police on Friday arrested Marcelo Odebrecht, the head of Latin America's largest engineering and construction company Odebrecht SA, and accused his family-run conglomerate of spearheading a $2.1 billion bribery scheme at state-run oil firm Petrobras. Police also apprehended Otavio Marques Azevedo, CEO of Andrade Gutierrez, Brazil's second-largest builder, as the probe into corruption at Petrobras spread to the highest level of Brazilian business. Odebrecht, Azevedo and other top executives arrested in Sao Paulo were driven to the airport in a van and flown to the southern city of Curitiba…
Brazil VP Urges Distinction Between Firms, Arrested Execs
Brazil's Vice President Michel Temer said on Friday there "must have been a reason" to arrest the chief executive officers of the country's two top engineering firms, but that it was important to distinguish between the executives and the companies, which are major employers in Brazil. Federal police arrested Marcelo Odebrecht, head of Odebrecht SA, and Otavio Marques Azevedo, CEO of Andrade Gutierrez. Prosecutors said the two companies led a cartel of firms that overcharged state-run oil firm Petrobras and paid kickbacks to executives and politicians.
Petrobras Seeks Compensation From Executives, Contractors cited in “Lava Jato” probe
Petrobras has filed joint lawsuits with the Federal Public Prosecutors’ Office for improper conduct against the contractors and executives identified as responsible for irregularities within the scope of the Federal Police’s “Lava Jato” anti-corruption investigation. The lawsuits are on top of a series of measures the company has adopted to guarantee full compensation for the losses it has suffered, including those related to its reputation. In this first stage, there are two lawsuits – one filed on April 30 and the other filed…
Petrobras: Corruption Costs May Reach USD $2 Billion
Brazil's state-run oil company Petrobras estimated losses connected to a vast corruption scheme are between 5 billion reais and 6 billion reais ($1.6 billion-$2 billion), a report in Folha de S.Paulo newspaper said on Friday citing sources reviewing past contracts. The calculation is based upon the 3 percent of what Petrobras overpaid for contracts in a kickback scheme revealed in testimony from arrested executives linked to the scandal and is "conservative" according to unnamed sources in the report. Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is formally known, was not immediately available for comment.
