Swiss, Brazil Try to Unravel Petrobras Affair

By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi
Tuesday, April 9, 2019

Crimefighters in Switzerland and Brazil pledged to intensify cooperation to resolve the sprawling corruption case linked to state oil firm Petrobras in which around 700 million Swiss francs ($701 million) remain frozen in Switzerland.

Switzerland has so far returned roughly 365 million Swiss francs ($365.6 million) to Brazil related to Petrobras and construction firm Odebrecht, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Tuesday, including 9 million francs in March.

Around 70 related criminal proceedings are under way in Switzerland, two of which are scrutinizing Swiss financial groups, the OAG said after Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber and Brazilian Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge met in Brasilia on Monday.

"The two counterparts signed a joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to continue and intensify their cooperation," the OAG said in a statement.

More than 130 businessmen and politicians have been convicted in Brazil in the case, focused on political kickbacks and money laundering at Petrobras and Odebrecht. Ex-Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year prison sentence.

Around 15 criminal cases opened in Switzerland have been passed along to authorities in Brazil. The probe has also swept up leading global commodity traders based in Switzerland. The Swiss are assisting Brazilian prosecutors investigating alleged bribery and corruption links to Vitol, Trafigura and Glencore.


($1 = 0.9982 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi, editing by John Revill and John Miller)

Categories: Legal Finance South America

Related Stories

Woodside Inks Long-Term LNG Supply Deal with China Resources

Japan and South Korea Look to Partner Up with US for Alaska Pipeline

Malaysia's Petronas Plans Job Cuts

McDermott Concludes Work at PTTEP’s Kikeh Gas Field Off Malaysia

Petronas Preps for Sabah-Sarawak Gas Pipeline Decom Op

VIDEO: AIRCAT Crewliner takes Shape to Service Offshore for TotalEnergies Angola

Abu Dhabi's NMDC Group Gets $1.1B Subsea Gas Pipeline Job in Taiwan

CNOOC’s South China Sea Oil Field Goes On Stream

OPEC+ Passes on Oil Output Increase, Weighs the "Trump Effect"

Makin' a List ... Trump Prioritizes Energy Exploration, Production, Export

Current News

Jadestone Submits Field Development Plan for Assets Off Vietnam

Woodside Inks Long-Term LNG Supply Deal with China Resources

CNOOC Starts Production at Two New Oil and Gas Projects

Argentina YPF to Shed Offshore Exploration Projects

Cairn India Might Invest in US Oil Servicing Firms to Increase Production

All Gas from Conrad’s Mako Field to be Sold to Indonesia’s PLN

ORE Catapult and Japan’s FLOWRA to Jointly Advance Floating Wind

Shell Hires Noble’s Drillship for Work in Southeast Asia

Second Hai Long Substation Heads to Project Site Offshore Taiwan

Shell Launches Next Phase of Malaysia's Deepwater Project with First Oil Production

Subscribe for AOG Digital E‑News

AOG Digital E-News is the subsea industry's largest circulation and most authoritative ENews Service, delivered to your Email three times per week

https://accounts.newwavemedia.com