Dive Brief:
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The U.S. government could land in the middle of the investigation into a massive corruption scandal involving Brazil’s largest construction and engineering companies.
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Brazil’s prosecutors reportedly have approached a federal law enforcement agency for help in tracking down international bank accounts that were allegedly used to launder hundreds of millions of dollars in a kickback scheme involving the state-run oil company Petrobras.
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The heads of Brazil’s two largest builders were arrested last week for their alleged participation in the kickback scheme. The Washington Post reported the pair also donated large sums to political candidates, allegedly in exchange for government contracts.
Dive Insight:
The prosecutors told The Post they were “inspired” to ask for U.S. assistance by the FBI investigation into soccer officials associated with the soccer federation FIFA.
A Forbes column noted that it’s possible some of the money involved in the Petrobras case might be hidden in U.S. assets.
