Corruption Brings Down an Empire: Odebrecht in Brazil By Mario Osava
By Mario Osava
The American Airlines Arena, a stadium and entertainment complex in Miami, Florida, is one
of the many projects carried out by Odebrecht in the United States, where prosecutors have
begun to produce figures reflecting the scope of the company’s corruption. Credit: Odebrecht
RIO DE JANEIRO, Feb 16 2017 (IPS) - People in Brazil have been overwhelmed by the flood of news stories about the huge web of corruption woven by the country’s biggest construction company, Odebrecht, which is active in dozens of fields and countries.
The business empire built by three generations of the Odebrecht family is falling apart after three years of investigation by the Lava Jato (car wash) operation launched by the Federal Public Prosecutor’s office in Brazil, which is investigating the corruption that diverted millions of dollars in bribes in exchange for major public works contracts from the state-run oil giant Petrobras.
Marcelo Odebrecht, who headed the company from 2008 to 2015, was arrested in June 2015 and was initially sentenced to 19 years in prison.
In October he and the company reached plea bargain deals to cooperate with the investigation. A total of 77 former and present Odebrecht executives provided over 900 sworn statements to Lava Jato prosecutors, causing a political earthquake in Brazil and throughout Latin America.
More:
http://www.ipsnews.net/2017/02/corruption-brings-down-an-empire-odebrecht-in-brazil/
