Petrobras investors seek compensation in the Netherlands

INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS who say they lost billions of dollars as a result of the corruption scandal at Brazilian state-run oil giant Petrobras have launched a compensation case in the Netherlands.

In a statement Tuesday, a coalition of investors said it filed a 172-page writ at the District Court of Rotterdam claiming that investors lost billions following “significant asset writedowns and precipitous declines in Petrobras share prices” after allegations of fraud and kickbacks were revealed in 2014.

The coalition represents investors who bought Petrobras securities in Brazil and elsewhere and who are not covered by litigation in the United States.

Petrobras Global Finance BV and other Petrobras units have offices in Rotterdam.

The investors added that the Netherlands is an ideal jurisdiction to pursue the case as the Dutch legal system has precedents for international investors seeking compensation for damages caused by fraud and violations of international securities laws.

In a statement, Petrobras said investigators and Brazil’s supreme court consider the company a victim, and thus Petrobras has received tens of millions of dollars recovered over the course of the investigation into the kickback scheme.

It was not immediately clear when hearings in the Dutch case would be held.