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152-657: Clockwise from top left: Headquarters of Petrobras in Rio de Janeiro ; Emblem of the Federal Police of Brazil; Deltan Dallagnol with Rodrigo Janot ; Odebrecht logo; Federal Police in an operation; Judge Sergio Moro Operation Car Wash ( Portuguese : Operação Lava Jato , Brazilian Portuguese pronunciation: [opeɾɐˈsɐ̃w lavɐ ˈʒatu] ) was a landmark anti-corruption probe in Brazil. Beginning in March 2014 as

304-607: A joint venture with Nippon Alcohol Hanbai KK to sell Brazilian ethanol to Japan, called Brazil-Japan Ethanol. On 21 April 2006, the company started production on the P-50 oil platform in the Albacora East field at Campos Basin, which made Brazil self-sufficient in oil production. During the administration of the Workers' Party in the 2010s, Petrobras spent an estimated $ 40 billion subsidizing motor fuels, causing it to become

456-894: A 50% royalty interest. In 2007, Petrobras inaugurated the Petrobras 52 Oil Platform. The 52 is the biggest Brazilian oil platform and the third-biggest in the world. In 2007 and 2008, Petrobras made several major oil discoveries including the Tupi oil field (formerly known as the Lula oil field), the Jupiter field , and the Sugar Loaf field , all in the Santos Basin , 300 km off the coast of Rio de Janeiro . The oil fields were discovered by partnerships that include Petrobras, Royal Dutch Shell , and Galp Energia . However, estimates for

608-494: A Range Rover Evoque for Paulo Roberto Costa  [ pt ] , a former director of Petrobras, the investigation expanded nationwide. Once he was charged, Costa agreed to provide evidence to the investigation. A newly adopted law introduced 'rewarded collaboration' ( Colaboração premiada ) a type of plea bargaining involving sentence reductions for defendants who cooperate in investigations. Costa's deposition showed which political parties controlled Petrobras. It also led to

760-643: A US$ 70 billion share offering, the largest share offering in history, to be used to develop newly discovered oil fields. Giovanni Biscardi and Machado Meyer represented Petrobras. Biscardi brought his Brazilian corporate practice to Greenberg Traurig in January 2020. In 2012, Petrobras surrendered permits to explore offshore in New Zealand . Petrobras did not provide a reason but the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said

912-538: A binding decision as to whether to proceed summarily or by indictment prior to the defendant making his or her plea. If the Crown elects to proceed summarily and the defendant then pleads not guilty , the Crown cannot change its election. Therefore, the Crown is not in a position to offer to proceed summarily in exchange for a guilty plea. Canadian judges are not bound by the Crown's sentencing recommendations and could impose harsher (or more lenient) penalties. Therefore,

1064-715: A businessman and lobbyist, was allegedly the connection between major Brazilian construction firms and the government formed by the Workers’ Party (PT) and Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB). Between 2014 and February 2016, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (Portuguese: Ministério Público da União ) filed 37 criminal charges against 179 people, mostly politicians and businessmen. Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and then President Dilma Rousseff were also implicated. On 8 March 2016, Marcelo Odebrecht , CEO of Odebrecht and grandson of

1216-650: A constitutional right). If the defendant does not win on appeal the agreement is carried out; if the defendant is successful on appeal the bargain is terminated. The defendant in Doggett v. United States made such a bargain, reserving the right to appeal solely on the grounds that he was not given a speedy trial as required by the United States Constitution; Doggett's claim was upheld by the United States Supreme Court and he

1368-448: A defendant who believes that conviction is almost certain, a discount to the sentence is more useful than an unlikely chance of acquittal. The prosecutor secures a conviction while avoiding the need to commit time and resources to trial preparation and a possible trial. Plea bargaining similarly helps preserve money and resources for the court in which the prosecution occurs. It also means that victims and witnesses do not have to testify at

1520-513: A degree of certainty for all parties involved. The practice of plea bargaining has spread globally but varies significantly based on local legal traditions and regulations. In some jurisdictions, the judiciary retains the final authority to approve or reject plea agreements, ensuring that any proposed sentence aligns with public interest and justice standards. Despite its efficiency, the use of plea bargains remains controversial, particularly when weighed against principles of transparency, fairness, and

1672-697: A depth of 1,877 metres (6,158 ft) below sea level. In 2002, Petrobras acquired the Argentine company Perez Companc Energía (PECOM Energía S.A.) from the Perez Companc Family Group and its family foundation for $ 1.18 billion. This acquisition included assets in Argentina , Brazil, Venezuela , Bolivia , Peru , and Ecuador , 1.1 billion barrels of crude oil reserves, and production of 181 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (1,110,000 GJ) per day. In 2005, Petrobras announced

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1824-496: A federal judge, to join the incoming administration of right-wing President Jair Bolsonaro as Justice Minister . This move drew criticism, since Moro had sentenced former President Lula, Bolsonaro's leading rival in the presidential race. Moro fell out of favor with Bolsonaro and left his post in April 2020. He was replaced as the judge in the case by Luiz Bonat . The probe's reputation was further damaged by revelations arising from

1976-421: A flat fee for representing a client, or may not receive additional money for taking a case to trial, creating an incentive for the defense attorney to settle a case to increase profits or to avoid a financial loss. A prosecutor may want to maintain a high conviction rate or avoid a losing high-profile trials, creating the potential that they will enter into a plea bargain that furthers their interests but reduces

2128-653: A formal legal provision was introduced in Pakistan by the National Accountability Ordinance 1999, an anti-corruption law. A special feature of this plea bargain is that the accused applies for it, accepting guilt, and offers to return the proceeds of corruption as determined by investigators and prosecutors. After an endorsement by the Chairman National Accountability Bureau, the request is presented before

2280-414: A government official. In other cases, formal plea bargains in Pakistan are limited, but the prosecutor has the authority to drop a case or a charge in a case and, in practice, often does so, in return for a defendant pleading guilty on some lesser charge. No bargaining takes place over the penalty, which is the court's sole privilege. Plea bargaining is a significant part of the criminal justice system in

2432-687: A hack of his lawfirm's computer systems. Fonseca and his business partner Jürgen Mossack were arrested and jailed in February 2017. They were released in April 2017 after a judge ruled they had cooperated with the investigation and ordered them each to pay $ 500,000 in bail. During the Peruvian presidential election in February 2016, a report by the Brazilian Federal Police implicated President Ollanta Humala in bribery by Odebrecht for public works contracts. President Humala denied

2584-433: A hacker from Araraquara , Walter Delgatti Neto, for breaking into the authorities' Telegram accounts. Neto confessed to the hack and to having given the chat logs to Greenwald. Police said the attack had been perpetrated by abusing Telegram's phone number verification and exploiting vulnerabilities in voicemail technology in use in Brazil using a spoofed phone number. The Intercept neither confirmed nor denied that Neto

2736-485: A highway construction contract. In late 2017, Euzenando Prazeres de Azevedo, president of Constructora Odebrecht in Venezuela, told investigators that Odebrecht had made $ 35 million in campaign contributions to Nicolas Maduro 's 2013 presidential campaign in return for Odebrecht projects receiving priority in Venezuela, that Americo Mata, Maduro's campaign manager, initially asked for $ 50 million for Maduro, settled in

2888-468: A joint-venture with Murphy Oil. In 1961, Petrobras geologist Walter K. Link published Link's memorandum , which implied that the company was better off exploring offshore instead of onshore. In 1963, Petrobras discovered the Recôncavo Baiano and Carmópolis oil fields. The company's growth was halted by the 1973 oil crisis . The entire country was affected, and the "Brazilian miracle",

3040-413: A judge routinely disregards joint submissions, that judge would compromise the ability of the Crown to offer meaningful incentives for defendants to plead guilty. Defence lawyers would become reluctant to enter into joint submissions if they were thought to be of little value with a particular judge, which would thus result in otherwise avoidable trials. For these reasons, Canadian judges will normally impose

3192-410: A leak of personal conversations between investigators by hacker Walter Delgatti . Delgatti hacked the online communications of investigative authorities over Telegram groups. Dubbed Vaza Jato , the leak purports to expose undue pre-trial coordination between Judge Moro and prosecutors in the case to produce evidence, direct hearings and discuss possible sentencing. The hacking leak was published in

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3344-451: A lesser offense. As a result, people who might have been acquitted because of lack of evidence, but also who are in fact truly innocent, will often plead guilty to the charge. Why? In a word, fear. And the more numerous and serious the charges, studies have shown, the greater the fear. That explains why prosecutors sometimes seem to file every charge imaginable against defendants. This tactic is prohibited in some other countries—for example in

3496-503: A long way to assure that a plea bargain is struck". Prosecutors often have great power to procure a desired level of incentive, as they select the charges to be presented. For this reason, [P]lea bargains are just as likely in strong and weak cases. Prosecutors only need to adjust the offer to the probability of conviction in order to reach an agreement. Thus, weaker cases result in more lenient plea bargains, and stronger ones in relative harshness, but both result in an agreement. [... W]hen

3648-517: A luxury apartment in Guarujá received from Grupo OAS – entered prison in Curitiba to serve his 12 year sentence. However, illegal communications between Car Wash prosecutors and its lead judge came to light in mid-2019, in which the parties suggested that their prosecutorial motive was to prevent Lula's re-election. There were calls to release the former president (see Leaked conversations below). As

3800-548: A manufacturer of electronic components. Ensuing investigations culminated in the identification of four large criminal rings, headed by: Carlos Habib Chater  [ pt ] , Alberto Youssef , Nelma Kodama  [ pt ] , and Raul Henrique Srour . Investigation at first focused on the four black-market currency dealers and improper payments to Alberto Youssef by companies who had won contracts at Petrobras' Abreu and Lima refinery. After they discovered that doleiro (black-market dealer) Alberto Youssef had acquired

3952-484: A meeting about an agreement to pay approximately US$ 40 million in bribes to the Brazilian Democratic Movement in exchange for contracts with the international Board of Directors of Petrobras. According to Faria, Temer, who at the time was a candidate for vice-president on Dilma Rousseff's ticket, delegated to Eduardo Cunha and Henrique Eduardo Alves , then deputies and present at the meeting,

4104-554: A period when annual GDP growth exceeded 10%, ended. Petrobras nearly went bankrupt. In 1974, the company discovered an oil field in the Campos Basin . This discovery boosted its finances and helped it restructure nationwide. In 1975, the Brazilian Government temporarily allowed foreign operators into Brazil, and Petrobras signed exploration contracts with foreign companies for oilfields in Brazil. The company

4256-703: A plea bargain and plead guilty is contentious and has been subjected to considerable research. Much research has focused on the relatively few actual cases where innocence was subsequently proven, such as successful appeals for murder and rape based upon DNA evidence , which tend to be atypical of trials as a whole (being by their nature only the most serious kinds of crime). Other studies have focused on presenting hypothetical situations to subjects and asking what choice they would make. More recently some studies have attempted to examine actual reactions of innocent persons generally, when faced with actual plea bargain decisions. A study by Dervan and Edkins (2013) attempted to recreate

4408-470: A plea bargain as being within the interests of justice. The lack of compulsory prosecution also gives prosecutors greater discretion as well as the inability of crime victims to mount a private prosecution and their limited ability to influence plea agreements. Defendants who are held in custody—who either do not have the right to bail or cannot afford bail, or who do not qualify for release on their own recognizance—may get out of jail immediately following

4560-534: A prosecutor has only a 25% chance of winning his case and sending a defendant away to prison for 10 years, they may make a plea agreement for a sentence of one year; but if plea bargaining is unavailable, a prosecutor may drop the case completely. In Canada, the courts always have the final say with regard to sentencing. Nevertheless, plea bargaining has become an accepted part of the criminal justice system although judges and Crown attorneys are often reluctant to refer to it as such. In most Canadian criminal proceedings,

4712-460: A real-life controlled plea bargain situation, rather than merely asking theoretical responses to a theoretical situation—a common approach in previous research. It placed subjects in a situation where an accusation of academic fraud (cheating) could be made, of which some subjects were in fact by design actually guilty (and knew this), and some were innocent but faced seemingly strong evidence of guilt and no verifiable proof of innocence. Each subject

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4864-602: A result of the reporting. The Washington Post reported that Greenwald had been targeted with tax investigations by the Bolsonaro government as retaliation for the reporting, while AP called Greenwald's reporting the first test case for a free press in the Bolsonaro era. The Guardian, reporting on retaliation against Greenwald from the Bolsonaro government and its supporters, said the articles published by Greenwald and The Intercept "have had an explosive impact on Brazilian politics and dominated headlines for weeks," adding that

5016-609: A result, he was released on 8 November 2019 after a supreme court ruling. On 3 July 2018, failed Brazilian billionaire Eike Batista was convicted of bribing former Rio de Janeiro governor Sérgio Cabral for state government contracts, having paid Cabral US$ 16.6 million, and was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment. Emílio Odebrecht said in a written report to the Attorney General of Brazil 's Office (PGR) that he discussed donations to Worker's Party's (PT) campaigns with former PT president Lula. Financial support, according to

5168-493: A sentence within the range of any joint submission. Following a Supreme Court of Canada ruling that imposes strict time limits on the resolution of criminal cases (eighteen months for cases in provincial court and thirty months for cases in Superior Court), several provinces have initiated and intensified measures intended to maximize the number of minor criminal cases resolved by a plea bargain. Largely particular to

5320-533: A small plane carrying Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki crashed into the sea near the tourist city of Paraty in the state of Rio de Janeiro , killing the magistrate and four other people. Zavascki had been handling Operation Car Wash corruption trials. A Miami Herald report noted in September 2017 that when Operation Car Wash began in 2014, fewer than 10,000 electronic monitoring bracelets were in use to enforce home detention sentences; by September 2017

5472-624: A wave of arrests. Fernando Soares, also known as "Fernando Baiano", a businessman and lobbyist, was allegedly the connection between major Brazilian construction firms and the government formed by the Workers’ Party (PT) and Brazilian Democratic Movement (PMDB). After Costa and Soares, many others agreed to collaborate with the prosecution; between 2014 and February 2016, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (Portuguese: Ministério Público da União ) filed 37 criminal charges against 179 people, mostly politicians and businessmen. In December 2017, nearly three hundred people had been accused of crimes in

5624-412: Is a legal arrangement in criminal law where the defendant agrees to plead guilty or no contest to a charge in exchange for concessions from the prosecutor . These concessions can include a reduction in the severity of the charges, the dismissal of some charges, or a more lenient sentencing recommendation. Plea bargaining serves as a mechanism to expedite the resolution of criminal cases, allowing both

5776-570: Is accompanied by her husband, Eron Bezerra  [ pt ] , said to have asked for slush fund cash donations for her. Federal Deputy Décio Nery de Lima (PT-SC) also requested slush funds for the Blumenau municipal campaign in 2012 of his wife, state deputy Ana Paula Lima (PT-SC). The Viana brothers of Acre , Governor Tião Viana (PT) and Senator Jorge Viana (PT), were also charged together. Jorge asked for and Odebrecht paid R$ 1.5 million in cash two for Tião's campaign in 2010. The names of

5928-784: Is also listed in the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American depositary receipts and in the Madrid Stock Exchange . Petrobras is a major supporter of the arts in Brazil. Operation Car Wash ( Portuguese : Operação Lava Jato ) was a criminal investigation by the Federal Police of Brazil 's Curitiba branch. Originally a money laundering investigation, it expanded to cover allegations of corruption at Petrobras, where executives allegedly accepted bribes in return for awarding contracts to construction firms at inflated prices. The aim of

6080-486: Is coercive. Like the medieval Europeans, the Americans are now operating a procedural system that engages in condemnation without adjudication. Theoretical work based on the prisoner's dilemma is one reason that, in many countries, plea bargaining is forbidden. Often, precisely the prisoner's dilemma scenario applies: it is in the interest of both suspects to confess and testify against the other suspect, irrespective of

6232-424: Is in the case of a defendant who cannot raise bail, and who is being held in custody in a jail or detention facility. Because it may take months, or even years, for criminal cases to come to trial or even indictment in some jurisdictions, an innocent defendant who is offered a plea bargain that includes a sentence of less time than they would otherwise spend in jail awaiting an indictment or a trial may choose to accept

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6384-469: Is innocent even though they presented a full confession. Also, unlike common law systems, prosecutors in civil law countries may have limited or no power to drop or reduce charges after a case has been filed, and in some countries their power to drop or reduce charges before a case has been filed is limited, making plea bargaining impossible. Since the 1980s, some civil law nations have adapted their systems to allow for plea bargaining. In 2013 Brazil passed

6536-424: Is that the prosecutor is persuaded to agree to a plea or a basis that is not in the public interest and interests of justice because it does not adequately reflect the seriousness of the offending ... Any plea agreement must reflect the seriousness and extent of the offending and give the court adequate sentencing powers. It must consider the impact of an agreement on victims and also the wider public, whilst respecting

6688-790: The Abreu e Lima refinery in Ipojuca , Pernambuco , Brazil . The initial investment in the refinery is estimated at $ 18.5 billion, and the refinery will refine heavy crude oil from the Pre-Salt region. The company operates in six business areas, listed in order of revenue: Petrobras controls significant oil and energy assets in 16 countries in Africa, North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. However, Brazil represented 92% of Petrobras' worldwide production in 2014 and accounted for 97% of Petrobras' worldwide reserves on 31 December 2014, when

6840-597: The Bolivian gas conflict , Bolivia's president Evo Morales announced the nationalization of all gas and oil fields in the country and ordered the occupation of all fields by the Bolivian Army . On 4 May 2006, Petrobras cancelled a major future investment plan in Bolivia as a result. The Bolivian government demanded an increase in royalty payments from foreign petroleum companies to 82%, but eventually settled for

6992-595: The Brazilian justice system , in which the Supreme Federal Court (STF) is the court of last resort . Some of the contested issues were the stage at which convicted defendants would begin to serve their sentences, and the extensive use of plea bargains by prosecutors. In a 2016 decision penned by STF judge Teori Zavascki , the Court found that prison terms should be served once a sentence was confirmed by

7144-670: The Paradise Papers , a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment , revealed that Odebrecht used at least one offshore company as a vehicle for paying the bribes uncovered through the Operation Car Wash investigation. Marcelo Odebrecht, his father Emílio Odebrecht and his brother Maurício Odebrecht are all mentioned in the Paradise Papers. During the governments of Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Néstor Kirchner , Odebrecht

7296-576: The Sentencing Council typically require that they receive a discount on the sentence, with the amount of discount depending on the timing: The discount can sometimes involve changing the type of punishment, such as substituting a prison sentence for community service . For some offences where a mandatory minimum sentence applies, section 73 of the Sentencing Act 2020 permits the sentence to be reduced this way up to 20 percent below

7448-625: The Southern Cross Group . The transaction included the licensing of the Petrobras and Lubrax brands for 8 years. To operate the assets acquired from Petrobras in Chile, Southern Cross created Esmax, a company that acts as a Petrobras licensee in the fuel and lubricant distribution segments. In March 2019, the company concluded the sale of 100 percent of Petrobras Paraguay Distribución Limited (PPDL UK), Petrobras Paraguay Operaciones y Logística SRL (PPOL) and Petrobras Paraguay Gas SRL (PPG) to

7600-595: The national petroleum agency , Agência Nacional do Petróleo (ANP), responsible for the regulation and supervision of the petroleum industry, and the National Council of Energy Policies, a public agency responsible for developing public energy policy. In 1999, the National Petroleum Agency signed agreements with other companies, ending the company's monopoly. In 2000, Petrobras set a world record for oil exploration in deep waters, reaching

7752-406: The right to a full trial . Plea bargaining has been defended as a voluntary exchange that leaves both parties better off, in that defendants have many procedural and substantive rights, including a right to trial and to appeal a guilty verdict. By pleading guilty, defendants waive those rights in exchange for a commitment from the prosecutor, such as a reduced charge or more favorable sentence. For

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7904-464: The 1990s. In 2006, Petrobras said that their industrial retort could process 260 tonnes/hour of oil shale. In 1994, Petrobras put the Petrobras 36 , the world's largest oil platform , into service. It sank after an explosion in 2001 and was a complete loss. In 1997, the government approved Law N.9.478, which broke Petrobras's monopoly and allowed competition in Brazil's oilfields, and also created

8056-521: The 2016 presidential elections to Kuczynski by a margin of fewer than 50,000 votes, was championing impeachment; her party had already forced out five government ministers. Fujimori herself was later implicated in the Odebrecht scandal over alleged campaign contributions and on 31 October 2018 a judge sent her to 36 months of pretrial detention. Kuczynski resigned the Presidency on 21 March 2018 and

8208-459: The American justice system serve to promote plea bargaining. For example, the adversarial nature of the U.S. criminal justice system puts judges in a passive role, in which they have no independent access to information with which to assess the strength of the case against the defendant. The prosecutor and defense may thus control the outcome of a case through plea bargaining. The court must approve

8360-514: The Americas, such as Susan Rose-Ackerman (praised by Car Wash prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol as the world's top corruption expert), Bruce Ackerman , and Luigi Ferrajoli, voiced their shock at the conduct of the Brazilian authorities and described former President Lula as a political prisoner, calling for his release. Petrobras Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. , better known by and trading as

8512-531: The Canadian justice system is that further negotiations concerning the final disposition of a criminal case may also arise even after a sentence has been passed. This is because in Canada the Crown has (by common law standards) a very broad right to appeal acquittals, and also a right to appeal for harsher sentences except in cases where the sentence imposed was maximum allowed. Therefore, in Canada, after sentencing

8664-416: The Crown has the ability to recommend a lighter sentence than it would seek following a guilty verdict in exchange for a guilty plea. Like other common law jurisdictions, the Crown can also agree to withdraw some charges against the defendant in exchange for a guilty plea. This has become standard procedure for certain offences such as impaired driving . In the case of hybrid offences , the Crown must make

8816-431: The Crown and the defence will often make a joint submission with respect to sentencing. While a joint submission can entail both the Crown and defence recommending exactly the same disposition of a case, this is not common except in cases that are sufficiently minor that the Crown is willing to recommend a discharge . In more serious cases, a joint submission normally call for a sentence within relatively narrow range, with

8968-410: The Crown arguing for a sentence at the upper end of the range and the defence arguing for a sentence at the lower end, so as to maintain the visibility of the judge's ability to exercise discretion. Judges are not bound to impose a sentence within the range of a joint submission, and a judge's disregard for a joint submission is not in itself grounds for the sentence to be altered on appeal. However, if

9120-912: The Grupo Copetrol, through its subsidiary Paraguay Energy. The agreement provides for the licensing for the exclusive use of the Petrobras brand by Nextar (the successor of Petrobras Paraguay Operaciones y Logística SRL) at that country’s service stations, for the initial term of five years. In February 2021, the company concluded the sale of entire stake in Petrobras Uruguay Distribución S.A. (PUDSA), by indirect subsidiary (Petrobras Uruguay Sociedad Anónima de Inversión -PUSAI), in Uruguay, to Mauruguay S.A., an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Disa Corporación Petrolífera S.A. (DISA). In January 2020, Petroleo Brasileiro stated that it ended all of its business in Africa after completing

9272-518: The Odebrecht testimony, Rodrigo obtained cash resources both for his father's campaign and also for himself. The Brazilian Democratic Movement leader of the Senate, Renan Calheiros (AL), was charged along with his son, the governor of Alagoas Renan Filho (PMDB), in two inquiries. They allegedly participated in an agreement to divert resources from work on the Canal do Sertão and also received resources in

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9424-621: The PSDB was in power in Minas Gerais (2003–2014). Odebrecht also discussed family involvement. In eleven cases under the jurisdiction of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), investigations implicate father and son, husband and wife, or siblings. The president of the Chamber, Rodrigo Maia (DEM-RJ), has the most family members implicated. Maia was charged in the same investigation as his father, councilor and former mayor Cesar Maia . According to

9576-461: The People, at 7 million reals each. The PCdoB, PDT, PRB, PROS, and PP received the illegal donations, according to the former director of Odebrecht. Together, these parties gave three minutes and twenty seconds of television time to the presidential ticket. In return, said the former director, the contractor hoped to obtain quid pro quos from the elected government. The informant detailed meetings with

9728-537: The Sentencing Council stresses that the prosecution should accept such a plea only if it enables the court to impose a sentence and make other ancillary orders that are appropriate for the seriousness of the offence, and never merely for the sake of convenience. The prosecution must also take the victims' views into account. In cases before the Crown Court, the defendant can request an indication from

9880-522: The Special Chemical Industry Regime (Reiq), and tax incentives to stimulate ethanol production. The former executive said that this was not a direct exchange of favors as was, he says, the negotiation of the 50 million reals passed on to the government for the creation of Crisis Refis to solve the crisis caused by zero Imposto sobre Produtos Industrializados  [ pt ] ("Industrialized Products Tax"; IPI), but that

10032-592: The US National Security Agency (NSA) had been spying on Petrobras. The information was based on a top secret NSA file provided to Guardian journalist Glenn Greenwald by Edward Snowden as part of the Global surveillance disclosures . The file showed that Petrobras was one of several targets for the NSA's Blackpearl program, which extricates data from private networks. Petrobras announced that it

10184-492: The United Kingdom the prosecutor's code states: Prosecutors should never go ahead with more charges than are necessary just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a few. In the same way, they should never go ahead with a more serious charge just to encourage a defendant to plead guilty to a less serious one. although it adds that in some kinds of complex cases such as major fraud trials: The over-riding duty of

10336-477: The United States; the vast majority (roughly 90%) of criminal cases in the United States are settled by plea bargain rather than by a jury trial . Plea bargains are subject to the approval of the court, and different states and jurisdictions have different rules. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines are followed in federal cases and have been created to ensure a standard of uniformity in all cases decided in

10488-694: The amount of R $ 132 million, as victim-beneficiary of the award-winning collaboration agreement signed between the Federal Prosecutor's Office and Rogério Santos de Araújo, before the Supreme Court. Petrobras's website notes several initiatives to preserve the environment. These include efforts to support both ocean and forest ecosystems. Most notably, Petrobras has sponsored population studies and conservation efforts for humpback whales in northeast Brazil. The company's efforts helped to rebuild Brazil's humpback whale populations from 2,000 in

10640-517: The arrest of President Lula was a "setup", "one of the gravest errors in the country's judicial history", and declared all evidence obtained from a settlement with Odebrecht null and void, adding that Operation Car Wash acted as a "21st century pau de arara ". Chief prosecutor Augusto Aras believes that Operation Car Wash left a "cursed legacy". The initial accusation came from businessman Hermes Magnus in 2008, who reported an attempt to launder money through his company, Dunel Indústria e Comércio,

10792-534: The board of Petrobras from 2003 to 2010, denied knowledge of any wrongdoing. The Brazilian Supreme Court authorized the investigation of 48 current and former legislators, including former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva , in March 2016. Eduardo Cunha , president of the Chamber of Deputies from 2015 to 2016, was convicted of taking approximately $ 40 million in bribes and hiding funds in secret bank accounts and sentenced to 15 years in prison. On 19 January 2017,

10944-408: The business contractor in energy deals. He said that improper payments were made due to business deals with two state companies: Furnas and Cemig . The first federal investigation was under the leadership of Dimas Toledo  [ pt ] , an ally of Neves, in the early years of the Lula administration (2003–2005). The second state-run investigation was influenced by Aécio during the period when

11096-409: The case is weak, the parties must rely on charge bargaining ... But [charge bargaining] is hardly an obstacle. Charge bargaining in weak cases is not the exception; it is the norm all around the country. Thus, even if the evidence against innocent defendants is, on average, weaker, the likelihood of plea bargains is not dependent on guilt. Another situation in which an innocent defendant may plead guilty

11248-420: The case of either way offences , the decision whether to deal with a case in a magistrates' court or the Crown Court is not made by magistrates until after a plea has been entered. A defendant is thus unable to plead guilty in exchange for having a case dealt with in magistrates' court (which has lesser sentencing powers). Where the defendant pleads guilty or indicates an intention to do so, the guidelines set by

11400-656: The charge and has avoided questions from the media on this matter. In July 2017, Humala and his wife were arrested and held in pre-trial detention following investigations into his involvement in the Odebrecht scandal. Investigations revealed that Brazilian president Lula da Silva pressured Odebrecht to pay millions of dollars toward Humala's presidential campaign. In December 2017 Peru's President Pedro Pablo Kuczynski appeared before Congress to defend himself against impeachment over allegations of covering up illegal payments of $ 782,000 from Odebrecht to Kuczynski's company Westfield Group Capital Ltd. Keiko Fujimori , who had lost

11552-433: The charge sheet or indictment and deny others, and the prosecution may agree to accept this plea and drop the denied charges; such an agreement will generally be accepted by the court as it serves the public interest, as well as the defendant's and victims' interests, to avoid the expense and stress of a trial. The defendant may also plead guilty on the basis of accepted facts that may affect sentencing while denying others, but

11704-454: The company had 8,112.8 million barrels of oil equivalent (4.9633 × 10  GJ) of proved developed reserves and 4,599.7 million barrels of oil equivalent (2.8140 × 10  GJ) of proved undeveloped reserves in Brazil . Of these, 62.7% were located in the offshore Campos Basin . The largest growth prospect for the company is the Tupi oil field in the Santos Basin . In 2015,

11856-578: The company produced 2.284 million barrels of oil equivalent (13,970,000 GJ) per day, of which 89% was petroleum and 11% was natural gas . Reserves held outside of Brazil accounted for 8.4% of production in 2014. The majority of these reserves are in South America ; the company has assets in Bolivia and Colombia . The company also owns exploration blocks in the Gulf of Mexico ., in

12008-597: The company's founder, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted of paying more than $ 30 million in bribes to Petrobras executives. Eduardo Cunha , president of the Chamber of Deputies from 2015 to 2016, was convicted of taking approximately $ 40 million in bribes and hiding funds in secret bank accounts and sentenced to 15 years in prison. Protests broke out calling for the resignation or impeachment of President Rousseff . The most widespread of these occurred on 13 March 2016 in over 300 municipalities. Police estimates gave about 3.5 million protestors throughout

12160-595: The construction of football stadiums for the 2014 World Cup , the Angra 3 nuclear power plant , the Belo Monte dam , and the North-South and Fiol railways . Prosecutors also tracked overseas operations, and cooperated with authorities from 61 countries, among which Switzerland , the United States and Peru were the most frequent collaborating parties. Appeals against rulings by Judge Sergio Moro were processed in

12312-559: The contractor, came even before Lula became president. Marcelo Odebrecht said that the "Amigo" account for former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was created in 2010 with a balance of R$ 40 million. In his statement, he said he gave the money to Antonio Palocci , former Finance Minister and Rousseff's chief of staff, who had been the PT's contact with Odebrecht since the prior administration, when Emílio Alves Odebrecht  [ pt ] and Pedro Novis had handled payments. He said that in

12464-741: The country. Some of the protests were in areas previously thought of as strongholds of the Workers Party , of which Rousseff was the leader. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation sued Petrobras and its auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers as a result of the corruption scandal. In January 2018, Petrobras agreed to pay $ 2.95 billion to settle a U.S class action corruption lawsuit. Later in September 2018, Petrobras agreed to pay $ 853.2 million to settle with Brazilian and U.S. authorities. Petrobras settled with shareholder Vanguard Group in June 2017. On 1 February 2023 The company informs that received

12616-536: The court rejected his plea and accepted the CBI 's argument that the accused was facing serious charges of corruption. Finally, the court convicted Bandekar and sentenced him to three years' imprisonment. In December 2023, Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) was passed, to replace Code of Criminal Procedure by July 2024, which allows first time offender to be given relaxed punishment (one-fourth and one-sixth of such punishment) in plea bargaining. Plea bargaining as

12768-765: The court system by a team of federal prosecutors led by Deltan Dallagnol , while the judge in charge of the operation was Sergio Moro . Eventually, other federal prosecutors and judges would go on to oversee related cases under their jurisdictions in various Brazilian states. The operation implicated leading businessmen, federal congressmen , senators , state governors , federal government ministers , and former presidents Collor , Temer and Lula . Companies and individuals accused of involvement have agreed to pay 25 billion reais in fines and restitution of embezzled public funds. According to investigators, political appointees in state-owned enterprises systematically extorted bribes from private-sector suppliers. Part of these bribes

12920-423: The court, which decides whether it should be accepted or not. If the request for plea bargain is accepted by the court, the accused stands convicted but neither is sentenced if in trial nor undergoes any sentence previously pronounced by a lower court if in appeal. The accused is disqualified to take part in elections, hold any public office, or obtain a loan from any bank; the accused is also dismissed from service if

13072-405: The court; the prosecutor's recommendation is merely advisory, and the defendant cannot withdraw their plea if the court decides to impose a sentence other than what was stipulated in the agreement. An 11(c)(1)(C) agreement, however, binds the court once the court accepts the agreement. When such an agreement is proposed, the court can reject it if it disagrees with the proposed sentence, in which case

13224-574: The decision was "not a reflection on the capacity to undertake deep-sea drilling or the prospect of activity of that area". He attributed the decision to a regrouping by the company after some setbacks. In July 2013, a worker strike action shut down production at several of the company's oil platforms. In September 2013, Petrobras sold eleven onshore exploration and production blocks in Colombia to Perenco for US$ 380 million. In September 2013 Organizações Globo reported on national television that

13376-418: The defence sometimes has an incentive to try to persuade the Crown to not appeal a case, in exchange for the defence also declining to appeal. While, strictly speaking, this is not plea bargaining, it is done for largely the same reasons. In England and Wales, plea bargaining, in the sense of seeking a particular sentence in exchange for dropping some charges, is not permitted; only the judge or magistrates have

13528-555: The defendant has an opportunity to withdraw their plea. Plea bargains are so common in the Superior Courts of California (the general trial courts) that the Judicial Council of California has published an optional seven-page form (containing all mandatory advisements required by federal and state law) to help prosecutors and defense attorneys reduce such bargains into written plea agreements. Certain aspects of

13680-473: The donations were ultimately for the former president. On 4 March 2016, Lula was questioned for three hours as part of the fraud inquiry into the dealings of Petrobras, and his house raided by federal police agents. Lula, who left office in 2011, denied allegations of corruption. Police said they had evidence that Lula, 70, had received kickbacks . Lula's institute called actions against him "arbitrary, illegal and unjustifiable", since he had been cooperating with

13832-525: The end for $ 35 million. In May 2018, Transparency International showed that only 9 of 33 projects started by Odebrecht in Venezuela between 1999 and 2013 were completed. One of Singapore's prominent government-linked companies, Keppel Corporation , is also implicated in the Petrobras' corruption scandals. Information of involvement is confirmed in the plea bargain Keppel Corporation reached with US DOJ. Keppel and US DOJ however failed to release

13984-652: The expected sanction would be worse if they proceeded to trial. The study concluded that "[t]his somewhat counterintuitive 'cost of innocence', where the preferences of innocents lead them collectively to fare worse than their guilty counterparts, is further increased by the practice of imposing much harsher sentences at trial on defendants who contest the charges. This ' trial penalty ' seeks to facilitate guilty pleas by guilty defendants [...and ironically...] disproportionately, collectively, penalizes innocents, who reject on fairness grounds some offers their guilty counterparts accept." The extent to which innocent people will accept

14136-521: The expected sentence is agreed upon before a guilty plea. In addition, count bargaining involves pleading guilty to a subset of multiple charges. While plea bargaining can reduce the burden on courts and offer defendants a chance for lighter sentences, it has been subject to criticism. Detractors argue that it may encourage defendants, including the innocent, to plead guilty out of fear of harsher penalties if convicted at trial. Proponents, however, emphasize its role in conserving judicial resources and providing

14288-404: The exposés "appeared to show prosecutors in the sweeping Operation Car Wash corruption inquiry colluding with Sergio Moro, the judge who became a hero in Brazil for jailing powerful businessmen, middlemen and politicians." After Bolsonaro explicitly threatened to imprison Greenwald for this reporting, Supreme Court justice Gilmar Mendes ruled that any investigation of Greenwald in connection with

14440-408: The federal courts. A two- or three-level offense level reduction is usually available for those who accept responsibility by not holding the prosecution to the burden of proving its case; this usually amounts to a complete sentence reduction had they gone to trial and lost. The Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure provide for two main types of plea agreements. An 11(c)(1)(B) agreement does not bind

14592-407: The form of a slush fund they refer to as a caixa 2 . In the case of the father, two other inquiries are ongoing. The governor of Rio Grande do Norte , Robinson Faria (PSD), was charged along with his son, federal deputy Fábio Faria (PSD-RN). The two allegedly received contributions through a slush fund in return for defending Odebrecht Ambiental's interests in the area of basic sanitation in

14744-499: The government during a criminal plea negotiation, innocent defendants are highly risk-averse. More pressure to plea bargain may be applied in weak cases (where there is less certainty of both guilt and jury conviction) than strong cases. Prosecutors tend to be strongly motivated by conviction rates, and "there are many indications that prosecutors are willing to go a long way to avoid losing cases, [and that] when prosecutors decide to proceed with such weak cases they are often willing to go

14896-645: The innocence of the accused. Arguably, the worst case is when only one party is guilty: here, the innocent one has no incentive to confess, while the guilty one has a strong incentive to confess and give testimony (including false testimony ) against the innocent. A 2009 study by the European Association of Law and Economics observed that innocent defendants are consistently more likely than guilty defendants to reject otherwise-favorable pleas proposals, even when theoretically disadvantageous to do so, because of perceived unfairness, and would do so even if

15048-473: The investigation of a small car wash in Brasília over money laundering , the proceedings uncovered a massive corruption scheme in the Brazilian federal government, particularly in state-owned enterprises . The probe was conducted through a joint task force of agents in the federal police , revenue collection agency , internal audit office and antitrust regulator . Evidence was collected and presented to

15200-520: The investigation was to ascertain the extent of a money laundering scheme, estimated by the Regional Superintendent of the Federal Police of Paraná State in 2015 at R$ 6.4–42.8 billion (US$ 2–13 billion), largely through the embezzlement of Petrobras funds. The authorities issued over a thousand warrants against business figures and politicians. It also led to a wave of arrests. Fernando Soares, also known as "Fernando Baiano,"

15352-546: The investigation, trial and arrest of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva allegedly for the sake of preventing him to run for a third term in the 2018 Brazilian general election , among other crimes. Other news agencies, such as Folha de São Paulo and Veja , confirmed the authenticity of the messages and worked in partnership with The Intercept Brasil to sort the rest of the material in their possession before releasing it. On 23 July, Brazilian Federal Police made public that they had arrested and were investigating

15504-601: The investigations. Lula, convicted of accepting bribes worth 3.7 million reals (1.2 million dollars), was sentenced on 12 July to nine and a half years in prison. He appealed the sentence to the Federal Regional Court -4, which increased his sentence to twelve years and a month. On 5 April 2018, Moro ordered his imprisonment, and he surrendered two days later. The plea bargain testimony by Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial's former president Márcio Faria da Silva said that on 15 July 2010, President Michel Temer led

15656-446: The judge of the likely maximum sentence that would be imposed should the defendant decide to plead guilty. Following the rule in R v Goodyear , it is only appropriate to give such an indication if requested by the defence with the defendant's written authorization; such indication is treated as binding on the court, but only if the defendant actually pleads guilty, and cannot prevent the sentence being appealed as unduly lenient . In

15808-399: The judge's acceptance of a plea. Generally, once a plea bargain is made and accepted by the courts, the matter is final and cannot be appealed. However, a defendant may withdraw his plea for certain legal reasons, and a defendant may agree to a "conditional" plea bargain, whereby they plead guilty and accept a sentence, but reserve the right to appeal a specific matter (such as violation of

15960-655: The local appeals court. This was welcomed by prosecutors as an incentive against illegal practices. Teori Zavascki , the judge overseeing the prosecution, died in a plane crash off the coast of Paraty , in January 2017, and the investigation lost a key backer in the Supreme Federal Court. In 2019, the STF reverted its ruling, and decided that prison sentences only take effect in Brazil after all possible appeals to higher courts are exhausted. In January 2019, Sergio Moro announced that he would resign from his position as

16112-541: The maximum punishment is imprisonment for seven years or less; however, offenses affecting the socio-economic condition of the country and offenses committed against a woman or a child below 14 are excluded. In 2007, the Sakharam Bandekar case became the first such case in India where the accused, Sakharam Bandekar, requested lesser punishment in return for confessing to his crime (using plea bargaining). However,

16264-565: The mid-nineties to over 9,000 in 2008. Petrobras subscribes to the United Nations Global Compact , a voluntary agreement regarding human rights, working conditions , corruption , and the environment . In 2008, the Spanish consultancy firm Management and Excellence named Petrobras the world's most sustainable oil company. Plea bargain A plea bargain , also known as a plea agreement or plea deal ,

16416-399: The middle of 2010, at the end of the Lula administration, he knew that Dilma Rousseff was going to take over and that the balance of the account would be "managed by her at her request". Thus, he set apart a sum that would be destined exclusively for the former president. He said that Lula never asked directly for donations and that everything was done through Palocci, but it became clear that

16568-476: The minimum. Section 73 requires the court to take into account the circumstances under which an indication to plead guilty was made in addition to its timing. Plea bargaining was introduced in India by The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2005 , which amended the Code of Criminal Procedure and introduced a new chapter, XXI(A), in the code, enforceable from July 5, 2006. It allows plea bargaining for cases in which

16720-641: The name of all people involved in this corruption scandal. Details is available on the US DOJ site here. On 9 June 2019, Glenn Greenwald and other journalists from investigative journalism magazine The Intercept Brasil started publishing several leaked chat messages exchanged via the Telegram app between members of the Brazilian judiciary system . Some, including then Car Wash judge and former Minister of Justice Sergio Moro and lead prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol are accused of violating legal procedure during

16872-438: The number had ballooned to more than 24,000. Petrobras delayed reporting its annual financial results for 2014, and in April 2015 released "audited financial statements" showing $ 2.1 billion in bribes and a total of almost $ 17 billion in write-downs due to graft and overvalued assets , which the company characterized as a "conservative" estimate. Had the report been delayed by another week, Petrobras bondholders would have had

17024-457: The plea arrangement and plead guilty. Agency problems may arise in plea bargaining as, although the prosecutor represents the people and the defense attorney represents the defendant, these agents' goals may not be congruent with those of their principles. For example, prosecutors and defense attorneys may seek to maintain good relations with one another, creating a potential conflict with the parties they represent. A defense attorney may receive

17176-682: The plea-bargain and plead guilty, for reasons including avoiding formal quasi-legal processes, uncertainty, possibility of greater harm to personal future plans, or deprivation of home environment due to remedial courses. The authors stated: Previous research has argued that the innocence problem is minimal because defendants are risk-prone and willing to defend themselves before a tribunal. Our research, however, demonstrates that when study participants are placed in real, rather than hypothetical, bargaining situations and are presented with accurate information regarding their statistical probability of success, just as they might be so informed by their attorney or

17328-407: The politicians in his office and cash deliveries, always made in kind by messengers to hotel rooms or flats. Marcelo Odebrecht said he met with Silva a few times to handle the money for the parties that would join the coalition in 2014. The former Dilma minister allegedly instructed Alencar to directly seek party leaders to pass on the values. He clarified that the interest of the PT was the increase of

17480-425: The portmanteau Petrobras ( Portuguese pronunciation: [ˌpɛtɾoˈbɾas, pet-] ), is a state-owned Brazilian multinational corporation in the petroleum industry headquartered in Rio de Janeiro , Brazil . The company's name translates to Brazilian Petroleum Corporation — Petrobras . The company was ranked #71 in the most recent Fortune Global 500 list. In the 2023 Forbes Global 2000 , Petrobras

17632-404: The potential of the prosecution and sentence to deter crime. Prosecutors may also make charging decisions that significantly affect a defendant's sentence, and may file charges or offer plea deals that cause even an innocent defendant to consider or accept a plea bargain. Another argument against plea bargaining is that it may not actually reduce the costs of administering justice. For example, if

17784-428: The power to determine sentence, and an agreement between the prosecution and defence cannot bind the court. The Crown Prosecution Service is required to prosecute an offence only where there is a realistic prospect of conviction, so greater charges cannot lawfully be used in bad faith to intimidate the defendant into accepting the charge actually sought. A defendant is permitted to plead guilty to some charges listed on

17936-423: The press by The Intercept Brasil and journalist Glenn Greenwald , who claimed that Moro passed on "advice, investigative leads, and inside information to the prosecutors" to "prevent Lula's Workers' Party from winning" the 2018 Brazilian general election . Moro and Dallagnol deny any wrongdoing; they maintain that the contents of the leak have not been confirmed and that, furthermore, no proof of illegal conduct

18088-406: The prosecution and the defence over criminal penalties. Plea bargaining is extremely difficult in jurisdictions based on the civil law . This is because, unlike common law systems, civil law systems have no concept of plea : if the defendant confesses, a confession is entered into evidence, but the prosecution is not absolved of the duty to present a full case. A court may decide that a defendant

18240-420: The prosecution and the defense to avoid the time, expense, and uncertainty of a trial. It is a prevalent practice in the United States, where it resolves the vast majority of criminal cases, and has been adopted in various forms in other legal systems worldwide. Plea bargains can take different forms, such as charge bargaining , where a defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense, or sentence bargaining , where

18392-405: The prosecutor is ... to see that justice is done. The procedures must command public and judicial confidence. Many defendants in serious and complex fraud cases are represented by solicitors experienced in commercial litigation, including negotiation. This means that the defendant is usually protected from being put under improper pressure to plead. The main danger to be guarded against in these cases

18544-549: The reporting would be illegal under Brazilian constitution, calling freedom of the press a "pillar of democracy". Greenwald reported that the leaked file is bigger than the one in the Snowden case. Fernando Haddad considered the leaks to have potential to become the "greatest institutional scandal in the history of the Brazilian republic". In response to the leaks, several top jurisprudence authorities and experts in Europe and

18696-657: The reserves of these new fields varied widely. The P-51 Platform, the first semisubmersible platform built entirely in Brazil, capable of producing up to 180,000 barrels of oil per day, started production in the Campos Basin in January 2009, and in February 2009, China agreed to loan Petrobras US$ 10 billion in exchange for a supply of 60,000–100,000 barrels of oil per day to a subsidiary of Sinopec and 40,000-60,000 barrels of oil per day to PetroChina . In August 2009, Petrobras acquired ExxonMobil 's Esso assets in Chile for US$ 400 million. In September 2010, Petrobras completed

18848-416: The right to demand early repayment. Petrobras also suspended dividend payments for 2015. Due in part to the impact of the scandal, as well as to its high debt burden and the low price of oil, Petrobras was also forced to cut capital expenditures and announced it would sell $ 13.7 billion in assets over the following two years. The conviction of Aldemir Bendine , Petrobras' former CEO, on corruption charges

19000-406: The rights of defendants. John H. Langbein argues that the modern American system of plea bargaining is comparable to the medieval European system of torture : There is, of course, a difference between having your limbs crushed if you refuse to confess, or suffering some extra years of imprisonment if you refuse to confess, but the difference is of degree, not kind. Plea bargaining, like torture,

19152-453: The risk of getting into debt at the end. That's why he made advance payment on the account, to keep it quiet. Former Odebrecht Institutional Relations Director Alexandrino Alencar  [ pt ] stated that former minister Edinho Silva  [ pt ] , when he became treasurer of Dilma Rousseff's campaign in 2014, asked for two donations from five parties to support the Force of

19304-664: The sale of a 50% stake in Petrobras Oil & Gas BV. The Brazilian government directly owns 54% of Petrobras' common shares with voting rights, while the Brazilian Development Bank and Brazil's Sovereign Wealth Fund (Fundo Soberano) each control 5%, bringing the State's direct and indirect ownership to 64%. The privately held shares are traded on B3 , where they are part of the Ibovespa index. It

19456-474: The scandal is also known as Petrolão (Portuguese for "big oil"). Investigators have also stated that contractors formed a cartel , involving the country's largest engineering conglomerates such as Odebrecht , Grupo OAS , Andrade Gutierrez , and Carioca Engenharia , to share government contracts among themselves and collude with corrupt politicians. Allegedly, the cartel also operated in contracts signed directly with government agencies, in projects such as

19608-543: The scandal. After Marcelo Odebrecht , grandson of the company founder, was sentenced to 19 years in prison, he and other Odebrecht executives were, due to the sentence reduction incentives of the 'rewarded collaboration' law, willing to act as witnesses and to give information about the broader corruption scheme. Odebrecht had a secret branch used to make illegal payments in several Latin American countries, from Hugo Chávez in Venezuela to Ricardo Martinelli in Panama. Odebrecht

19760-498: The senators cited in the report were: The names of the federal deputies cited in the Odebrecht statement were: The names in the Odebrecht statement include other politicians and former public officials: Marcelo Odebrecht detailed the payment of 100 million reals for the 2014 presidential campaign of Rousseff, requested by then-minister Guido Mantega . The payment was allegedly tied to the approval of Provisional Measure 613, which assisted Braskem , an arm of Odebrecht, and dealt with

19912-422: The sentence is customarily given in exchange for an early guilty plea, but this concession is expected to be granted by the judge as a way of recognizing the utilitarian value of an early guilty plea to the justice system - it is never negotiated with a prosecutor. The courts in these jurisdictions have made it plain that they will always decide what the appropriate penalty is to be. No bargaining takes place between

20064-540: The state. The president of the PMDB, Senator Romero Jucá (RR), and his son Rodrigo Jucá both figured in one of the inquiries. The father helped Odebrecht negotiate a provisional measure and obtained an electoral donation of 150,000 reals for his son. Romero Jucá was also charged in four other inquiries. A father asking for a contribution for a son was also why former minister José Dirceu was investigated along with Zeca Dirceu  [ pt ] , federal deputy. The father

20216-637: The task of making the payments which represented 5% of the contract's value. The meeting took place in Temer's political office in São Paulo . He did not discuss any details about the financial agreement, limiting himself to trivial conversations about politics. Marcelo Odebrecht said in his plea bargain testimony that the Social Democratic (PSDB) party, led by Senator Aécio Neves (PSDB-MG), received at least 50 million reals in exchange for favoring

20368-469: The then-minister knew that he was talking to someone who had given money to João Santana  [ pt ] . The former executive said he often met Mantega and they both brought their lawsuits to meetings. According to him, the former minister had already asked the executive to "resolve issues" pending with publicist João Santana and the then-treasurer of the PT, João Vaccari  [ pt ] . The advertiser always feared political campaigns because of

20520-495: The time of electoral time in the television, being in a total of eleven minutes and twenty-four seconds, being a third of that time coming from the parties purchased. During the many years it has been going on, the Car Wash scandal has expanded from its original roots in money laundering, to encompass wider corruption in Brazil, and outside its borders in at least ten other countries, even beyond South America. On 5 November 2017,

20672-510: The trial, which in some cases may be traumatic. Plea bargaining is criticized, particularly outside the United States, on the grounds that its close relationship with rewards, threats and coercion potentially endanger the correct legal outcome. Author Martin Yant discusses the use of coercion in plea bargaining: Even when the charges are more serious, prosecutors often can still bluff defense attorneys and their clients into pleading guilty to

20824-462: The world's largest centers dedicated to energy research. In 1968, the company established Petrobras Quimica S.A ("Petroquisa"), a subsidiary focused on petrochemicals and the conversion of naphtha into ethene . Petrobras had begun processing oil shale in 1953, developing the Petrosix technology for extracting oil from oil shale. It began using an industrial-size retort to process shale in

20976-486: The world's most indebted oil company. By November 2015, the company had accumulated $ 128 billion in debt, 84% of it denominated in foreign currencies. In 2022, during the Presidency of Jair Bolsonaro under the administration of Caio Paes de Andrade , Petrobras achieved its highest net profit in history, totaling R$ 188.3 billion, distributing R$ 215.7 billion in dividends, making it the second largest dividend payer in

21128-508: The world. In summer 2023, Petrobras entered into a 5-year agreement with Weatherford International for providing intervention services offshore Brazil . As part of the cooperation, the US company will also provide digitalization of production using the Centro well construction optimization platform. Also in 2023, Petrobras announced the resumption of construction of a new production line at

21280-520: Was able to raise the money for Zeca in exchange for the acting for Odebrecht interests in the government. In the Chamber of Deputies , the sons Antônio Britto (PSD-BA) and Daniel Vilela  [ pt ] (PMDB-GO) were also investigated along with their parents, Edvaldo Brito  [ pt ] (PTB-BA) and Maguito Vilela (PMDB-GO). Senator Kátia Abreu (PMDB-TO) was accompanied by her husband Moisés Pinto Gomes, who brokered cash payments for her in 2014. Senator Vanessa Grazziotin (PCdoB-AM)

21432-460: Was affected by the 1979 energy crisis , although not nearly as badly as in 1973. In 1997, Petrobras reached the production milestone of 1 million barrels (160,000 m ) per day. The company also executed agreements with other Latin American governments and began operations outside Brazil. In 2003, on its 50th anniversary, Petrobras surpassed 2 million barrels of oil equivalent (12,000,000 GJ) of daily production. On 1 May 2006, after

21584-465: Was annulled by the Supreme Federal Court in 2019 due to objections to the trial procedure. On 8 March 2016, Marcelo Odebrecht , CEO of Odebrecht and grandson of the company's founder, was sentenced to 19 years in prison after being convicted of paying more than $ 30 million in bribes to Petrobras executives. In April 2018, former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva – after having been sentenced for passive corruption and money laundering in relation to

21736-420: Was awarded overvalued contracts worth at least US$ 9.6 billion. In Mexico, the former director of the state-owned oil company Pemex , a close ally of President Enrique Peña Nieto , is suspected of receiving US$ 10 million in bribes from Odebrecht. Ramón Fonseca Mora , president of Panama 's Panameñista Party , was dismissed in March 2016 due to his involvement in the scandal. The Panama Papers resulted from

21888-454: Was channeled to political parties (particularly the MDB , PT , PSDB and PP ), in order to illegally fund political campaigns (via caixa dois ), as well as for personal gain. The largest amounts of bribes were detected in oil giant Petrobras ; company directors negotiated with contractors to receive illegal kickbacks ranging from 1% to 5% of disbursements. Due to its pervasiveness in Petrobras,

22040-458: Was freed. In some common law jurisdictions, such as Singapore and the Australian state of Victoria , plea bargaining is practiced only to the extent that the prosecution and the defense can agree that the defendant will plead guilty to some charges or to reduced charges in exchange for the prosecutor withdrawing the remaining or more serious charges. In New South Wales , a 10-25% discount on

22192-750: Was given fines totalling $ 2.6 billion by authorities of Brazil, Switzerland, and the United States after the company admitted bribing officials in twelve countries with some $ 788 million. Costa and Youssef entered into a plea bargain with prosecutors and the scope of the investigation widened to nine major Brazilian construction firms: Camargo Correa , Construtora OAS  [ pt ] , UTC Engenharia  [ pt ] , Odebrecht , Mendes Júnior  [ pt ] , Engevix  [ pt ] , Queiroz Galvão  [ pt ] , IESA Óleo e Gás  [ pt ] , and Galvão Engenharia  [ pt ] , as well as politicians involved with Petrobras. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff , who chaired

22344-477: Was investing R$ 21 billion over five years to improve its data security. In 2014, the company sold its assets in Peru to PetroChina for US$ 2.6 billion. Also in 2014, Petrobras set a new company record for average daily production of 2.863 million barrels of oil equivalent (17,520,000 GJ). In January 2017, the company concluded the sale of 100 percent of Petrobras Chile Distribuición Ltda (PCD) to

22496-529: Was present in the leaks. Nevertheless, the leaks marked a shift in public opinion, having caused the investigation to lose support. The taskforce was officially disbanded on 1 February 2021. Over time, the methods of prosecutors came under strong criticism from Supreme Federal Court judges. In March 2019, judge Gilmar Mendes referred, in a Court session, to Operation Car Wash investigators as "gangsters and scum", adding that their "methods dishonor institutions". In September 2023, STF judge Dias Toffoli stated that

22648-501: Was presented with the evidence of guilt and offered a choice between facing an academic ethics board and potentially a heavy penalty in terms of extra courses and other forfeits, or admitting guilt and accepting a lighter "sentence". The study found that as expected from court statistics, around 90% of accused subjects who were actually guilty chose to take the plea-bargain and plead guilty. It also found that around 56% of subjects who were actually innocent (and privately knew it) also take up

22800-493: Was ranked as the 58th-largest public company in the world. Petrobras was created in 1953 under the government of Brazilian president Getúlio Vargas with the slogan "The Oil is Ours" (Portuguese: "O petróleo é nosso"). It was given a legal monopoly in Brazil. In 1953, Brazil produced only 2,700 barrels of oil per day. In 1961, the company's REDUC refinery began operations near Rio de Janeiro, and in 1963, its Cenpes research center opened in Rio de Janeiro ; it remains one of

22952-550: Was sent to pretrial detention on 10 April 2019. On 17 April 2019, Alan García , a former President of Peru who was also implicated in the scandal, died by suicide from shooting himself in the head while police attempted to arrest him. Former president Alejandro Toledo (2001–2006) was also implicated in the bribery scandal, and was arrested in Redwood City, California in July 2019 for allegedly taking bribes in connection with

23104-490: Was their source and cited provisions for freedom of the press in the 1988 Brazilian Constitution . Greenwald has faced death threats and homophobic harassment from supporters of President Jair Bolsonaro due to his reporting on the Telegram messages. A New York Times profile of Greenwald and his husband David Miranda , a left-wing congressman, said the couple have become targets of homophobia from Bolsonaro supporters as

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