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Claim review. Bribery

Partly supported

A material part is supported, but the published wording goes beyond the record.

Petrobras said in January 2018 that it was a victim of the Lava Jato scheme.

As a victim of the scheme
About
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras
Claim made by
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras, company statement
Published
3 January 2018
Original
Petrobras Signs Agreement in Principle to Settle Class Action in the U.S.
Evidence score
79 How it was scored
Last reviewed
25 October 2026

Why this label

The Justice Department release describes an embezzlement scheme run by some executives that victimized the company and its shareholdersS1. The same release says senior executives facilitated bribes and concealed them in the books, and Petrobras admitted failures to keep accurate recordsS1. The SEC said the company's own financial statements misled US investorsS2. Petrobras paid US penalties and agreed to pay US$2.95 billion to investorsS2S3. The record supports that Petrobras was harmed by the scheme. It does not support describing the company only as a victim, since US authorities held the company responsible for its books and disclosures.

Current procedural position

Company statement of 3 January 2018S3. US resolutions of 27 September 2018 hold the company responsible for books and disclosure failuresS1S2.

Record supporting the assessment

embezzlement scheme that victimized the company and its shareholders
S1 Tier A US Department of Justice, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Agrees to Pay More Than $850 Million for FCPA Violations, 27 September 2018
As a victim of the scheme, Petrobras has already recovered R$1.475 billion in restitution in Brazil
S3 Tier B Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras, Petrobras Signs Agreement in Principle to Settle Class Action in the U.S., 3 January 2018

Conflicting or limiting record

Petrobras has agreed to pay a total of $933 million in disgorgement and prejudgment interest and an $853 million penalty
S2 Tier A US Securities and Exchange Commission, Petrobras Reaches Settlement With SEC for Misleading Investors, 27 September 2018
entered into a non-prosecution agreement
S1 Tier A US Department of Justice, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Agrees to Pay More Than $850 Million for FCPA Violations, 27 September 2018
Petrobras failed to detect and disclose these corruption schemes.
S5 Tier A US Securities and Exchange Commission, In the Matter of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras, Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist Proceedings, 27 September 2018

Evidence score: 79 of 100

The score grades how well the record establishes this assessment. It is not a score of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras. Score = source authority + directness + corroboration + procedural accuracy + currency + reproducibility.

ComponentPointsMaxReason
Source authorityIs the source competent to establish the proposition?2630The DOJ and SEC records are competent for how US authorities treated the company.
DirectnessDoes the source state the proposition or only discuss adjacent facts?1520The records address victim status and responsibility, but not in one statement.
CorroborationDo independent records support the same material point?1215DOJ, SEC and the company's own filing point the same way.
Procedural accuracyDoes the record settle the procedural state the claim describes?1015Settled resolutions with accepted facts, no trial findings.
CurrencyHas the record been checked against later developments?610Later Brazilian developments were only partly reviewed.
ReproducibilityCan a reader locate the passage and repeat the assessment?1010All documents are public.
Total79100

Timeline

  1. Petrobras describes itself as a victim of the schemeS3
  2. US resolutions announcedS1S2

Related cases

Revision history

  • Assessment first published with label Partly supported.

Have a record that changes this assessment? See corrections and responses.

Sources

  1. S1Tier A Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras Agrees to Pay More Than $850 Million for FCPA ViolationsUS Department of Justice. Regulator press release. 27 September 2018.Supports the non-prosecution agreement, the penalty split and the described conduct. The en dash in the original title is shown as a hyphen.Link working, checked 25 October 2026
  2. S3Tier B Petrobras Signs Agreement in Principle to Settle Class Action in the U.S.Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras. Company filing. 3 January 2018.Company statement of the class action terms and its victim position.
  3. S2Tier A Petrobras Reaches Settlement With SEC for Misleading InvestorsUS Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulator press release. 27 September 2018.Supports the SEC charge and the amounts with offsets. It states no admit or deny language.
  4. S5Tier A In the Matter of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras, Order Instituting Cease-and-Desist ProceedingsUS Securities and Exchange Commission. Regulator order. 27 September 2018.SEC order in File No. 3-18843 with disgorgement of US$711 million, interest of US$222,473,797 and a US$853.2 million penalty. The order records that Petrobras admits the Commission's jurisdiction. The fetched text showed no admit or deny wording. The en dash in the original caption is shown as a hyphen.

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