Swiss Attorney General Refunds Millions to Brazil

By Richard Mann, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Crimefighters in Switzerland and Brazil pledged to intensify cooperation to resolve the sprawling corruption case linked to Brazilian state oil firm Petrobras in which around US$ 701 million (700 million Swiss francs) remain frozen in the alpine country.

The Swiss Attorney Generals’ Office has so far returned roughly US$ 365.6 million (365 million Swiss francs) to Brazil related to Petrobras and construction firm Odebrecht, the Swiss Office of the Attorney General (OAG) said on Tuesday, including 9 million francs in March.

Currently, there are around 70 related criminal proceedings underway in Switzerland, two of which are into Swiss financial groups, the attorney general’s office said following a meeting with Brazil’s prosecutor general on Monday.

“The two counterparts signed at joint declaration reaffirming their commitment to continue and intensify their cooperation,” the OAG said in a statement.

More than 130 businessmen and politicians have been convicted in Brazil in the case, focused on political kickbacks and money laundering at Petrobras and Odebrecht. Ex-Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is serving a 12-year prison sentence.

Around fifteen criminal cases opened in Switzerland have been passed along to authorities in Brazil. The probe has also swept up leading global commodity traders based on Lake Geneva and Zug. The Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber is assisting Brazilian prosecutor Raquel Dodge in investigating alleged bribery and corruption links to Vitol, Trafigura, and Glencore.