Brazil federal court opens Petrobras banking records for investigation
Petrobras Oil Rig
Federal Judge Fernando Moro has ordered on Thursday (May 9) the disclosure of the banking records of Brazilian oil-giant Petrobras, its former director Paulo Roberto Costa, and companies that took part in the construction of Abreu e Lima refinery, in the northeastern state of Pernambuco. A 20-day deadline was set for Petrobras to produce the data on remittances sent to the construction companies.
The request for the disclosure was filed by Brazil’s Public Prosecution Office as part of operation Car Wash (Operação Lava Jato, in the original Portuguese) launched by the Federal Police, which investigates the embezzlement of public funds during the construction of the refinery.
Records demanded from Petrobras entails the period from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2013, and should be restricted, the judge says, “to payments made by [Petrobras] to [the following companies:] the National Camargo Correa Consortium [“CNCC”], Construções Camargo e Correa SA, and occasionally to Sanko Sider LTDA and Sanko Serviços de Pesquisa e Mapeamento.”
During operation Car Wash former Petrobras Director Paulo Roberto Costa and currency broker Alberto Yousseff were arrested. They are answering charges at the federal court in the southern state of Paraná. The former director is charged with laundering of public funds in the construction of the refinery Abreu e Lima and hindering the investigation of the police. Fake companies created by Yousseff were used for the embezzlement.
Started on March 17, operation Car Wash dismantled a criminal organization that operated in six states and the Federal District. According to the Council for the Control of Financial Activities (“COAF”), dealings amount to over $4.52 billion.
The police reported that the group under investigation “not only engaged some of Brazil’s chief figures from the currency black market,” it is also responsible for the financial transactions and the laundering of assets from a number of natural and legal persons involved in international drug trafficking, public corruption, tax evasion, foreign currency drain, the extraction and smuggling of precious stones, and embezzlement of public resources.
The operation was named Car Wash because members of the organizations used chain of car wash facilities and gas stations to conduct their transactions.
Petrobras told Agência Brasil it has not been judicially summoned as of yet. The company reiterated its commitment to collaborating with the Judiciary in the clarification of the facts.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Brazil federal court opens Petrobras banking records for investigation
