US court to hear arguments that Brazil oil giant should stand trial for corruption

Investors, which include the retirement funds of state workers in Ohio, Idaho and
Hawaii, claim that the oil company, Petrobras, was ‘rotten to the core’

Rupert Neate in New York
Thursday 25 June 2015 12.00 BST

A US court will hear arguments on Thursday that oil giant Petrobras should stand trial for a culture of bribery and corruption that has rocked Brazilian businesses and political elite and lowered the company’s value by $90bn.

Investors, led by the UK Universities Superannuation Scheme, which manages the pension funds of British academics, claim they lost billions as a result of the huge money laundering and corruption scheme. The investors, which also include the retirement funds of state workers in Ohio, Idaho and Hawaii, claim in court filings that Petrobras was “rotten to the core”.

The scandal, which has been dubbed “operation carwash” because huge amounts of money were allegedly laundered through a money exchange in a nondescript gas station in the Brazilian capital, has already led to the indictment of more than 40 Brazilian executives allegedly involved in the bribery scheme dating back to 2006.

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