Rolls-Royce to Pay US$25 Million for Bribery in Brazil’s Lava Jato

By Lise Alves, Senior Contributing Reporter

SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL – Implicated in the mega corruption scandal known as Lava Jato (Carwash), UK’s Rolls-Royce announced on Monday it had reached an accord with Brazil’s Ministerio Publico Federal (Public Prosecutor’s Office) to pay US$25 million for bribery and corruption charges.

In 2015 the British company was accused of paying bribes to Petrobras employees for a US$100 million contract with the Brazilian state-owned oil giant.

Brazilian federal prosecutors say former Petrobras manager Pedro Barusco, in his plea-bargaining agreement said he received at least US$200,000 from the foreign company. Rolls-Royce, famous for luxury cars, also manufactures gas turbines for oil rigs.

“Rolls-Royce has co-operated fully with the authorities and will continue to do so,” says the statement released by the British company, which added, “These are voluntary agreements which result in the suspension of a prosecution provided that the company fulfills certain requirements, including the payment of a financial penalty.”

Under Monday’s agreement the company also made settlements with the governments of Great Britain and the United States for corruption charges.

This is not the first time the Lava Jato corruption scandal has accused large and respected foreign companies of bribes and corruption while doing business with Petrobras.

Barusco in early 2016 also implicated Netherland’s SBM company of paying over US$42 million to Petrobras executive and directors for contracts with the Brazilian oil giant between 1997 and 2012. Barusco agreed to tell all to federal prosecutors and return the millions he received in exchange for a lighter sentence.

According to prosecutors, more than R$6.4 billion were given to former directors of state-owned oil giant Petrobras by some of the largest construction, equipment and logistics companies in the world for contract benefits.