A Brazilian judge sentenced Marcelo Odebrecht, the former chief executive officer of South America's biggest construction company, to 19 years in prison for his involvement in a sprawling corruption scandal centered on Brazil's state oil company, Petrobras.
Odebrecht was found guilty of 11 charges of bribery and 40 counts of money laundering in relation to a system of kickbacks that his company allegedly paid to senior executives at the state-run oil conglomerate Petrobras. Judge also convicted former Petrobras executive Eduardo Musa and lobbyist Hamylton Padilha, though their sentences were reduced because they signed plea agreements.
In his ruling, federal judge Sérgio Moro said there was robust evidence from phone and email exchanges that proved Odebrecht was the "mastermind" of the scheme, which was ultimately used to channel money to politicians for election campaigns.
Prosecutors have said that the overall scheme involved more than $2 billion in bribes paid to obtain Petrobras contracts, with some money making its way to political parties, including the governing Workers' Party. Some of Brazil's wealthiest people have been caught up in the probe, as have dozens of politicians from both the governing coalition and the opposition, Yahoo! News reported.
Nabor Bulhões, Odebrecht's counsel, said that the prosecution had failed to produce evidence incriminating his client, saying witness testimony did not directly link the former chief executive to illicit acts nor did any documents seized by the police.
"The sentence against Marcelo Odebrecht is manifestly unfair and unjust because it has no basis in the evidence uncovered in the criminal investigation. The defense of Marcelo Odebrecht will keep fighting for his liberty and to prove his innocence," Bulhões said.
Moreover, Judge Moro said Odebrecht paid a total of nearly R$109m as well as a further $35m in bribes in corruption related to Petrobras, "a very expressive number."
"Grupo Odebrecht, for its part, has significant political and social responsibilities and cannot escape from them," the judge said. "It is necessary, as a first step to emerge from this criminal scheme and recuperate its reputation, to assume responsibility for its past faults," he said.
The Car Wash scandal has involved by the businessmen and politicians who were arrested or put under investigation, including former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, facing allegations of taking bribes and laundering money from Petrobras-connected companies.
Admittedly, Petrobras was struggling to bring down its debt and has already pared back over the past year its massive five-year investment plan by nearly a quarter to $98-billion. The source said the cuts in exploration in these states would "eventually affect production," Valor reported.
