BRAZIL-PETROBRAS/CORRUPTION Brazil police detain 27 more in Petrobras-linked probe
Record ID:
863927
BRAZIL-PETROBRAS/CORRUPTION Brazil police detain 27 more in Petrobras-linked probe
- Title: BRAZIL-PETROBRAS/CORRUPTION Brazil police detain 27 more in Petrobras-linked probe
- Date: 14th November 2014
- Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF THE EXTERIOR OF THE PETROBRAS HEADQUARTERS IN RIO RIO DE JANEIRO STATE, BRAZIL (FILE) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF OFFSHORE DRILLING RIG
- Embargoed: 29th November 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Brazil
- City:
- Country: Brazil
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAEB2GKWQL04T21CNMW26FZUGHW
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Brazil's federal police were serving 27 additional arrest warrants on Friday (November 14) in a broad money-laundering investigation that has ensnared a former senior executive at oil firm Petrobras, causing it to delay releasing its results.
The police said in a statement 300 police officers along with 60 tax fraud agents were involved in the operation in five different states and the capital district.
They raided Brazilian construction and engineering companies and seized potentially incriminating documents.
Hours after the third-quarter earnings delay was announced late Thursday (November 13), police arrested 18 people suspected of involvement in a money laundering and bribery scheme centred on Petrobras.
Several warrants were being served at "large companies," the statement said, without identifying companies' names or the individuals targeted.
"We needed to collect a good amount of evidence, analyse a lot of stuff, in order to ensure today's searches were done in companies with evidence that consistently points to the creation of a cartel with Petrobras contracts," a delegate from the Federal Police, Igor de Paula, said.
"We don't make a distinction, at the public ministry, between anyone; the republic stands for equality. So today, don't have the big name or the deep pockets, we went after those who committed the crime and who we believe are responsible," said prosecuting attorney, Carlos Fernando Lima.
The move comes a day after Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the state-run oil company is formally known, delayed the release of its third quarter earnings report, saying it needed time to investigate allegations of corruption.
The money-laundering probe, known as "Operation Car Wash," was first launched in March as police investigated an alleged money laundering scheme involving Petrobras.
The continuing fallout of the scandal has put pressure on leftist President Dilma Rousseff, who won a narrow re-election last month.
A former Petrobras executive jailed in the case has said in a plea bargain deal that kickbacks from contracts were funnelled to Rousseff's Worker's Party and its allies in Congress.
The scandal sent Petrobras shares plummeting 5 percent on Friday.
Investors are concerned the postponed publication of audited results for the third quarter puts the world's most indebted oil company at risk of a technical default on tens of billions of dollars in bonds.
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