Tags
Alberto Youssef, Corruption, Money laundering scheme, Operation Car Wash, Paulo Roberto Costa, Petrobras, Petrobras corruption scandal, President Dilma Rousseff
On January 1, 2015, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff began her second term marred by the corruption scandal at Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. or Petrobras, the state-run oil giant and largest company in the nation. During her address before the National Congress, President Dilma affirmed her commitment to “rigorously investigate all the wrong done and strengthen [Petrobras] even more… and know how to punish [those involved], without weakening Petrobras, or diminishing its importance for the present and the future.”
The Petrobras corruption scandal erupted in March 2014 with the Federal Police money-laundering sting, codename Operation Car Wash, executed across six states and the Federal District (Brasília). They seized R$5 million (US$1.9 million) in cash, 25 luxury cars, jewelry, paintings, and weapons. Among the seventeen people arrested was Alberto Youssef, a black-market money dealer and suspected leader of the scheme. Continue reading