Brazil’s securities market authority CVM has accused eight former Petrobras executives of corruption, according to Reuters.
CVM, equivalent to America’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), formally filed charges against the eight – who include two former Chief Executive Officers of the scandal-plagued state oil firm – in connection with irregularities in the contracting process for three drill ships.
Petrobras is a major regional player with vast offshore drilling interests.
The two ex-CEOS are Maria des Gracas Foster and Jose Sergio Gabrielli.
For more than two years Petrobras has been the epicentre of a massive federal corruption inquiry, known as Operation Car Wash, which has been the downfall of numerous business bigwigs and national politicians in Brazil, not to mention executives of several foreign contractor firms.