Brazil prosecutors announce return of $60 million to Petrobras

Federal prosecutors announced the return of over $60 million to the coffers of Petrobras, recovered by means of Operation Car Wash. “This is the largest return of funds ever carried out by a criminal court in our country,” said Chief Federal Prosecutor Paula Cristina Conti Thá, standing next to officials from the Federal Police, the Federal Revenue Service, and federal court of Paraná state. More than $147 million have been recovered thus far.

The prosecutor also explained that the amounts are being restored to Petrobras because it has been understood that the “company is a direct victim of the crimes perpetrated by some of its former executives and employees.”

Petrobras CEO Pedro Parente highlighted that, in addition to bringing about major financial losses, wrongdoing at the oil giant morally damaged thousands of employees not connected with the irregularities. “A paltry number of employees and executives have brought shame to the massive majority of collaborators and pensioners who made this company grand,” he declared.

According to Parente, the company works to prevent the situation from arising yet again and to collaborate with the investigators to recover lost funds as much as possible, which amount to some $1.6 billion. “We're adopting a pro-active attitude in fighting the embezzlement, fraud, and corruption,” he said.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira