Odebrecht cuts deal with Peru to name bribed officials
December 9, 2018
Peruvian authorities have reached a deal with Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht's Peruvian unit that will allow the scandal-tainted firm to operate in Peru in exchange for fines and divulging information about officials it bribed, local media and Reuters reported on Saturday.
Odebrecht has been at the center of a major graft scandal after it admitted to US, Brazilian and Swiss prosecutors in 2016 to paying nearly $800 million (around €700 million) in bribes to politicians in a dozen Latin American countries, including Peru.
Peruvian anti-graft prosecutors are currently investigating former presidents Alejandro Toledo (2001-2006), Alan García (1985-1990, 2006-2011), Ollanta Humala (2011-2016) and Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018), in addition to the former presidential candidate and opposition leader Keiko Fujimori, who is in prison.
The internet portal El Comercio reported that the agreement between prosecutors and Odebrecht includes a commitment for the firm to provide information on bribes it paid to Peruvian officials.
The economic daily Gestion reported that in the 150-page agreement Odebrecht admitted to paying bribes to win seven contracts for five public works projects. Two sources told Reuters the Brazilian giant confessed to paying bribes to win six contracts related to four infrastructure projects.
Separately, the newspaper La Republica reported that Peruvian investigators will travel to Brazil in the coming weeks to interrogate Odebrecht's ex-president Jorge Barata about an alleged money laundering case against former President Garcia and opposition leader Keiko Fujimori.
As part of the deal, Odebrecht also agreed to pay between $182 million and $200 million in fines, according to Reuters. The agreement allows Odebrecht to continue operating in Peru.
cw/jm (Reuters, EFE)