How the Giant Odebrecht Descended from Olympus

04/24/2017 - 12h08

In July 2014, when Operation Lava Jato was in its fourth month and Odebrecht appeared to be under the protection of the Workers' Party administration, the company's lawyers heard members of the taskforce introduce the idea of establishing a plea bargain.

The suggestion was to have Odebrecht confess to crimes committed in business negotiations with Petrobras and pay a fine of US $20 million.

Marcelo Odebrecht, arrested 11 months after the offer, sneered at the proposition.
In December 2016, Odebrecht yielded to investigators and the fine was multiplied by 130:it reached US 2.6 billion.

According to accounts, in and out of prison, Marcelo Odebrecht coordinated at least six efforts to bring an end to Lava Jato.

One of Odebrecht's attorneys was indicted under the suspicion that he had corrupted Military Police agents.

Marcelo Navarro, who-according to former senator Delcídio do Amaral-would have been named minister of the Superior Court of Justice, (STJ) to release Mr. Odebrecht, voted in favor of his release, but other STJ ministers opted to deny the request for habeas corpus.

Odebrecht was also not able to prevent the arrival of Swiss documentation on the company's financial operations.

Moreover, the contractor left a secretary to her own devices after she was arrested in Curitiba. It was the company's Battle of Waterloo. The group lost the stature of empire with that arrest.

That marks the point when Emílio Ode­brecht, chairman of the group's board of directors, agreed to a pela bargain. With the Lava Jato findings, the contractor could not obtain credit from banks.

The great doubt that hangs over the Odebrecht executives is whether they will be able to overcome the damage that the corruption scandals have done to the company's reputation.

THE OTHER SIDE
In a statement, the company said that "it has already acknowledged its mistakes, made public apologies and is committed to fighting and demonstrating no tolerance for corruption."

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

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