Brazil’s state-run oil company Petrobras has settled a dispute with the Vanguard Group, one of its largest shareholders.
Petrobras said on Monday its board had approved the settlement, resolving an action brought by Vanguard before the Federal Court of Pennsylvania in the U.S.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the settlement resolves Vanguard’s losses stemming from Petrobras’ involvement in a massive corruption scandal.
The WSJ has said that Vanguard’s lawsuit stated that Petrobras had assured investors that it would be transparent and responsible in managing the company’s growth, however, the lawsuits then said that the Brazilian oil company hid the corruption scheme and massively overstated its assets and profitability, eventually leading to losses for shareholders.
Prior to the settlement, the Brazilian oil company had already reached settlement with 19 out of 27 individual investors on legal disputes related to the Car Wash investigation.
Petrobras said that the details of the settlements were confidential, but it did say it would rise the estimate of the total provisions for the settlements to $445 million from previously expected $372 million.
Furthermore, the oil company said the settlements did not constitute any acknowledgment of liability on Petrobras’ part.
Petrobras is also a subject to a class action lawsuit in New York. The company said that, “at present, it is not possible to make a reliable estimate of the outcome of the class action.”
The Brazilian authorities have alleged that former Petrobras executives took billions in bribes and kickbacks from construction companies in exchange for contracts with Petrobras at inflated rates.
Offshore Energy Today Staff