INTERNATIONAL - Brazil's state-controlled oil company, Petroleo Brasileiro, said yesterday that it had agreed to pay $2.95 billion (R36.52bn) to settle a US class action brought by investors seeking to recoup money they claim to have lost as a result of a corruption scandal.
Petrobras, as the company is known, did not admit wrongdoing under the deal, which is one of the largest securities class action settlements in the US. US district judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan must approve the settlement.
Investors sued Petrobras after prosecutors in Brazil accused former executives at the company of accepting more than $2bn in bribes over a decade, mainly from construction and engineering companies. Petrobras claimed it was itself a victim, but its market value plunged as the so-called Lava Jato or “car wash” scandal deepened.
Petrobras said yesterday that it hoped the settlement would resolve all investor claims in the US over the scandal.