A former oil company big wig in Brazil has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after a publicized investigation on bribery and corruption occurred.
Jorge Zelada, the former director of Brazil-owned oil giant Petrobras, has been convicted of money laundering and corruption after an investigation pushed through. Three of Zelada's colleagues were also jailed, including Hamylton Padilha and lobbyist Eduardo Costa Musa, who both signed a plea agreement for shorter sentences.
The investigation that was launched was part of the biggest money laundering case in Brazil. The sentenced men were found guilty of awarding U.S. company, Vantage Drilling, a contract for the Titanium Explorer project in exchange for bribes and undeclared amounts of money in Monaco and Switzerland.
According to prosecutors, Zelada and Musa received $31 million worth of bribes from Padilha and Hsin Chi Su, the chief executive of TMT, a Taiwanese shipping firm. The case says that Padilha and Su, who is also a shareholder at Vantage Drilling, had a meeting at New York's Four Season's Hotel to discuss the said bribe, The Globe and Mail reports. The bribe helped forward to freight a drill ship to Petrobras.
According to a separate report by BBC, Zelada transferred millions into bank accounts he owned in China. Zelada was arrested in July and has been held in prison in Curitiba, a city in southern Brazil. Zelada was accused in the charge together with Musa.
More than 100 people have been arrested during the time of the investigation, including high profile personalities such as politicians and top executives at Petrobras. Some of Brazil's biggest construction firms were also involved in the investigation, shaking the country's Workers' Party stating that the country's most respected politicians accused of being part of the bribes.
BBC also reported that Zelada's lawyer will prepare an appeal against his client's 12-year sentence.
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