SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – A Brazilian judge sentenced a former international director at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA to five years in prison for money laundering yesterday, the second company executive convicted in an ongoing corruption probe.
Federal Judge Sergio Moro said there was ample evidence to support charges by prosecutors that the former director, Nestor Cervero, used bribe money stolen from the company to buy a luxury apartment in Rio de Janeiro.
Cervero was fired from Petrobras, as the company is known, in 2014 and arrested in January as he stepped off a plane from Europe. He is also suspected of receiving bribes in exchange for awarding drilling ship contracts.
The massive kickback scandal has paralyzed Petrobras’ infrastructure plans and undermined President Dilma Rousseff’s political standing. More than 100 people have been indicted and 50 politicians are under investigation for taking bribe money.
