Brazilian prosecutors announced earlier this week that major oil traders Vitol, Trafigura and Glencore had paid over $30 million in bribes to Petrobras employees, which is state-owned.
Top executives of the international companies were aware of the bribery involving Petrobras, investigators noted. They also added that said at a news the bribes occurred between 2011 and 2014.
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Namely, according to Reuters, Petrobras employees offered these companies lower prices for oil, along with storage tanks, in more than 160 separate operations. After that they shared the savings.
The bribes were transported via bank accounts in the US, Britain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay, among other countries. This raised questions of whether they will also conduct investigations.
Glencore and Trafigura have not provided a comment yet. However, a Vitol spokesman mentioned that the company does not tolerate bribery and corruption. For this reason, it will cooperate fully with the authorities.
Until now, more than 130 businessmen and politicians have been convicted in the case in Brazil. Among the, Brazil’s former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who is facing a 12-year prison sentence.