Brazil’s state oil firm Petrobras announced on Wednesday that it has agreed in principle to pay a $2.95bn settlement in US court, according to Reuters.
The payout, believed to be the biggest ever by a foreign firm in a US case, relates to a class action brought by investors claiming that their interests were damaged by the massive bribes-for-inflated-contracts corruption scheme that has been swirling around the company since 2014.
In settling, Petrobras does not admit any liability and stands by its claim of being as much a victim in the bribery scandal, a victim both of the parties doing the bribing and of the individual company officials who participated.
The agreement is subject to approval by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, where the case was brought.
Payments will be made in three instalments, the first two of $983 million each and the third of $984m, with first payment to be made within 10 days of the court’s preliminary approval.
Petrobras is a major player in the oil industry, with huge offshore drilling interests.
Why other yards in Singapore not affected ?