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Brazil corruption scandal claims scalp as top industrialist jailed for 19 years
Source: The Guardian
Brazil corruption scandal claims scalp as top industrialist jailed for 19 years
• Construction boss guilty of 11 counts of bribery and 40 of money laundering
• Marcelo Odebrecht was ‘mastermind’ of scheme, says judge
Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
Wednesday 9 March 2016 00.21 GMT
A Brazilian judge sentenced the former head of South America’s biggest construction company to 19 years in prison on Tuesday as a huge anti-corruption investigation claimed its highest-profile conviction.
Marcelo 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.
In his ruling, the 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.
This was not an isolated act, but part of the corporate policy of the Odebrecht Group, the judge said. Two other former executives – Márcio Faria and Rogério Santos – also received similar penalties.
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• Construction boss guilty of 11 counts of bribery and 40 of money laundering
• Marcelo Odebrecht was ‘mastermind’ of scheme, says judge
Jonathan Watts in Rio de Janeiro
Wednesday 9 March 2016 00.21 GMT
A Brazilian judge sentenced the former head of South America’s biggest construction company to 19 years in prison on Tuesday as a huge anti-corruption investigation claimed its highest-profile conviction.
Marcelo 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.
In his ruling, the 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.
This was not an isolated act, but part of the corporate policy of the Odebrecht Group, the judge said. Two other former executives – Márcio Faria and Rogério Santos – also received similar penalties.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/08/brazil-corruption-scandal-marcelo-odebrecht-jailed
