Brazilian prosecutors on Thursday confirmed their decision of last month to reject a settlement that would have allowed Dutch multinational oilfield services firm SBM Offshore to escape prosecution for its role in the Petrobras graft scandal in return for a payment of $328.2 million.
SBM was one of the first foreign firms implicated in the “bribes-for-inflated-contracts” scheme that has heaped scandal on the state oil company Petrobras and wrought chaos on the country’s political scene. The Dutch company was accused of paying millions of dollars in bribes between 1996 and 2012 in return for Petrobras contracts.
A leniency deal appeared to have been struck in July this year but that is what was knocked back on September 1, a decision reiterated on Thursday after SBM had sought clarification.
Had the deal stood, SBM Offshore would have been exempt from new lawsuits relating to the corruption probe and would have been allowed to bid again for Petrobras contracts.
The matter has now been referred by the Fifth Chamber for Coordination and Review and Anti-corruption to the Higher Council of the public prosecutor’s office.
