Brazil’s troubled state oil firm Petrobras, at the hub of a huge bribery scandal for several years, has recovered almost $25m from Rolls-Royce, money pertaining to the corruption scheme.
Under the scheme, investigated by Brazilian authorities under the name Operation Car Wash, Petrobras officials took bribes totalling billions of dollars from potential contractors in return for overpriced contracts.
Many senior politicians were also paid off in the vast web of graft.
British multinational Rolls-Royce made the payback after entering into a leniency agreement with Brazil’s Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office (MPF).
The agreement includes the return of the company’s net profit in six contracts for the supply of goods and services to Petrobras, plus the amount paid as commission to intermediaries and a fine.
Total reimbursements to Petrobras so far are around $250m.
Petrobras control significant oil and energy assets around the world but especially in Brazil, including vast offshore fields.
