Odebrecht paid ‘millions to ex-lima mayor’

LIMA: BRAZILIAN Construction irm Odebrecht, enmeshed in a corruption scandal which has shaken Latin America’s political establishment, gave millions of dollars to Lima’s mayor in a recall referendum, Peruvian media reported on Thursday.

Susana Villaran, a leftist and the irst woman to Hold THE mayor’s post, in 2013 faced the recall vote halfway through her four-year term.

Odebrecht’s former Peruvian boss Jorge Barata said that his company supported Villaran at her request, according to testimony he reportedly gave prosecutors in Brazil.

“We made the decision to support her in this process,” Barata told the IDL Reporters portal, explaining that THE irm HAD A Contract with THE municipality of Lima for an urban concession.

“We had a concern that the exit (of Villaran) would GENERATE some Dificulty with our contract,” Barata told Brazilian prosecutors, according to the portal.

“Then we received the call from the same mayor asking for that contribution. SHE AFIRMED THE NEED AND Importance of continuity,” he reportedly said.

Valdemir Garreta, of another BrazilIAN irm, FX, told prosecutors that HE received $3 million to advise Villaran, $2 million of which came from Odebrecht, El Comercio newspaper reported on Wednesday. Villaran denied to IDL that she received any money from Odebrecht for the campaign.

“The declaration Barata made before the Brazilian authorities is false,” she said. Villaran emerged victorious in the recall referendum but lost her bid for re-election in 2014.