RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian prosecutors leading the so-called “Car Wash” probe on Friday charged 42 people for their role in an alleged corruption scheme involving a construction contract for state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro in the state of Bahia.
In a statement, prosecutors said those charged included former high-ranking officials at Petrobras and its pension fund Petros, and executives from scandal-plagued builder Odebrecht SA [ODBES.UL] and engineering conglomerate OAS.
The charges mark the latest development in the “Car Wash” probe, a sprawling corruption investigation that has felled many members of Brazil’s political and business elite, revealing the rotten business dealings that long underpinned the upper echelons of Brazilian society.
Prosecutors said the charges related to a bribery scheme involved in the costly construction of the Pituba tower in the Bahia state capital Salvador, which was built in order to be Petrobras’ local headquarters. Money went to senior Petrobras and Petros officials, as well as to the leftist Workers Party (PT).
