Former international chief of Brazilian state-run oil company Nestor Cervero has been sentenced to 12 years of prison for corruption and money laundering.
Cervero is believed to have, together with two other defendants, been involved in paying bribe from Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) for two drillship contracts, Reuters reports.
The contracts in question are dating back from 2006 for the Petrobras 10000, which was hired on charter by Petrobras and Mitsui, and the Vitoria 10000, hired by Petrobras in the following year.
This is Cervero’s second sentence as he had already been sentenced to five years for money laundering.
Brazil’s Petrobras has lost around USD 2 billion due to its involvement in corruption activities that are said to have occured during 2003-2010 period, and, it may have to pay up to USD 1.6 billion more to settle U.S. criminal and civil probes into its role in the corruption scandal, Reuters reported citing sources familiar with the matter.
World Maritime News Staff