Deal struck for 2 execs in Brazil Petrobras probe

Simon West

25-Jan-2016

Photographer Xinhua News Agency/REX Shutterstock Opening of an impeachment against Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff for breach of tax liability, Brazil - 02 Dec 2015
Dutch oil-ship provider SBM Offshore will pay about $122,000 to settle the case against its CEO and a board member caught in the corruption investigation. Brazilians protest almost weekly over the Petrobras scandal, growing economic hardships and President Dilma Rousseff. (Xinhua News Agency/REX Shutterstock)

BOGOTA, Colombia (ICIS)–Dutch oil-ship leaser SBM Offshore said on Monday that it has reached an out-of-court settlement with Brazilian prosecutors after two of its serving directors were linked to alleged corruption with state oil company Petrobras.

SBM said it accepted an offer by Brazil’s public prosecutor’s office (MPF) to pay reais (R) 500,000 ($122,249), with no admission of guilt, to resolve charges against CEO Bruno Chabas and supervisory board member Sietze Hepkema.

Chabas and Hepkema were accused last month of “personal favouritism” in a suspected graft scheme whereby former SBM executives allegedly paid $46m in kickbacks to ex-directors at Petrobras in return for shipping contracts between 1997 and 2012.

In a statement, SBM said that although the accusations were “without merit”, the deal offers a “pragmatic opportunity” to resolve the case and avoid costly legal proceedings.

Thirteen former SBM and Petrobras executives were indicted on 17 December on charges including corruption, tax evasion, money laundering, criminal conspiracy and acting as criminal accessories.

The MPF said it was also investigating an alleged payment of $300m made by SBM to the ruling Workers’ Party (PT) presidential election campaign in 2010.

In November 2014, SBM agreed to pay the Dutch public prosecutor an out-of-court settlement of $240m to settle allegations that sales agents had bribed government officials in Brazil, Angola and Equatorial Guinea between 2007 and 2011.

The MPF, meanwhile, is also at the centre of Operacao Lava Jato (Portuguese for “Operation Car Wash”), an investigation into kickbacks allegedly paid to corrupt former Petrobras officials in exchange for lucrative construction contracts.

($1 = R4.09)

INSET IMAGE: Xinhua News Agency/REX Shutterstock

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