Cape Times

Petrobras will pay $2.95bn

-

BRAZIL’S state-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro, said yesterday that it had agreed to pay $2.95 billion (R36.52bn) to settle a US class action brought by investors seeking to recoup money they claim to have lost as a result of a corruption scandal. Petrobras, as the company is known, did not admit wrongdoing under the deal, which is one of the largest securities class action settlement­s in the US. US district judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan must approve the settlement. Investors sued Petrobras after prosecutor­s in Brazil accused former executives at the company of accepting more than $2bn in bribes over a decade, mainly from constructi­on and engineerin­g companies. Petrobras claimed it was itself a victim, but its market value plunged as the so-called Lava Jato or “car wash” scandal deepened. Petrobras said yesterday that it hoped the settlement would resolve all investor claims in the US over the scandal. – Reuters

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from South Africa