The largest and most infamous corruption scandal of the last decade began with a criminal investigation into the operations of Brazil’s largest corporation: Petrobras. The scandal got its name because the organizers of the bribery, kickback and money laundering scheme used a financial services company in Brasília located next to a gas station and car wash (Lava Jato). The investigation started with a seemingly minor complaint made in 2009 to the Federal Prosecutor’s office in Curitiba, Paraná, by a businessman concerned that somebody was using his company to launder money. Prosecutors followed this lead and discovered that political operators affiliated with the government had been funneling illegal campaign contributions from companies doing business with Petrobras in exchange for favourable treatment in construction contracts and in the procurement of goods and services. The scandal exploded onto the national scene in 2014, when a team of highly motivated federal prosecutors mounted an aggressive investigation under the supervision of a judge with experience in public corruption cases (Sergio Moro). Unlike most corruption scandals, which typically lead to prolonged investigations and inconsequential legal outcomes, this scandal triggered an avalanche of information which destabilized governments in Brazil, Peru and Ecuador. The first accusations centred on the construction of an oil refinery in Pernambuco, but the probe soon revealed it extended to other projects and every major construction company in Brazil. Unsurprisingly, the recipients of the bribes were high-level government functionaries, including both allies and opponents of the governing coalitions of President Lula da Silva and…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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