Brazil: whistleblower in Car Wash probe says he sent kickbacks to politicians

Former Transpetro president Sérgio Machado, who became a whistleblower in Operation Car Wash by agreeing to a plea bargain deal, said he passed on bribe money to over 20 politicians of several parties. Machado's statements were heard by the investigators from the crackdown's task force.

Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki, in charge of Operation Car Wash, declassified the statements and made them public Wednesday (Jun. 15).

In an excerpt from the over-400-page-long testimony, Machado names the politicians who allegedly also received kickbacks. Among them is Francisco Dornelles, acting governor of Rio de Janeiro. Also according to the passage, acting President Michel Temer asked Machado to get official donations for Gabriel Chalita, when the latter was running for mayor of São Paulo, in 2012.

Machado was president of the company, a subsidiary of Petrobras, from 2003 to November 2014, and claims politicians appointed allies to positions in state-controlled companies to get “as much illicit funding as possible, for electoral campaigns and other purposes.” He goes on to state that the job of such appointed directors was to run the companies and collect kickbacks for the politicians who nominated them.

In the first testimony, Machado told investigators that the politicians responsible for his appointment were Senators Renan Calheiros, Jader Barbalho, Romero Jucá, Edison Lobão, and former Senator José Sarney—all of whom PMDB members.

As per the terms of the plea bargain deal announced today, Machado is to return $21.5 million to Petrobras. Of this total, $2.8 million should be paid 30 days after the agreement was officially signed, last month, and $18.7 million in 18 monthly installments. For having reported the alleged transfers from Transpetro to politicians, Machado is to serve his sentence in a special house arrest regime.

In another testimony, Machado says the PMDB received “slightly more than $28.7 million” stemming from bribes paid to companies that signed contracts with Transpetro.

Renan Calheiros

Of the PMDB members implicated in the scheme, Machado said he passed on kickbacks adding up to over $8.6 million to the president of the Brazilian Congress alone—Senator Renan Calheiros.

Calheiros stated he never allowed anyone to speak on his behalf, and added that all campaign donations he received were “legal, with all transactions legally declared and approved.” “I have nothing whatsoever to fear,” Calheiros maintained.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira