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News > Latin America

Brazil Considers Increasing Corruption Fine Against Odebrecht

  • Construction company Odebrecht is involved in Brazil's largest corruption scheme.

    Construction company Odebrecht is involved in Brazil's largest corruption scheme. | Photo: Reuters

Published 23 April 2017
Opinion

The bribery scandal embroiling hundreds continues to affect the country and many of its top politicians.

The Brazilian government could increase the fines for corruption that construction company Odebrecht will pay as part of a multimillion-dollar agreement signed last year, the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo reported Sunday.

RELATED:
Odebrecht Admits Bribes Continued Months After Probe Began

Odebrecht, once the largest construction company in Latin America, signed an agreement in December with Brazil, the United States and Switzerland to allow the company to continue operations and pay a record fine of US$3.5 billion.

But the Attorney General's office has said it is evaluating the agreement and could raise the fine from US$2.4 billion to Brazil, according to Folha de Sao Paulo.

The country's central anti-corruption investigations, known as Operation Car Wash, have put dozens of politicians and business elites on trial and even behind bars for bribes in the state-run oil company Petrobras.

Statements from Odebrecht officials revealed Monday that 12 governors received about US$16 million by the current exchange rate in illegal payments to their respective campaigns that were never disclosed to electoral authorities.

RELATED:
Brazil's Odebrecht Paid $3.3 Billion in Bribes over a Decade

Eight ministers — which represents nearly one-third of the president's cabinet — 29 senators of the 81 in the Senate, 40 lawmakers out of the 513 from the lower house, twelve governors and five former presidents have been accused of being part of the scheme.

As part of plea bargain deal for 77 Odebrecht employees who have admitted to paying millions of dollars in bribes, officials agreed to present a list of politicians connected to the scheme in order to reduce their own sentences.

Temer said Monday he expected some of his ministers to resign, but that he believed that wouldn't prevent his government from approving major economic reforms, such as the controversial labor and pension reforms currently under review.

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