Brazil’s Braskem Probes Bribery Claims in Mexico
Braskem SA has opened an internal investigation into bribery allegations made last year by the former chief executive of Mexico’s state-run oil company, according to a securities disclosure.
The Brazilian petrochemical company said in a filing Friday that it hired an unnamed U.S. law firm to review the claims by Emilio Lozoya, the former CEO of Petróleos Mexicanos, also known as Pemex.
Testimony that Mr. Lozoya gave to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, including allegations involving Braskem’s parent company, was leaked to the press last year, adding fuel to what has become the widest-reaching corruption probe in Mexico’s modern history.
Braskem and its parent, construction giant Odebrecht SA, paid a combined $3.5 billion to settle expansive bribery charges with U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities in 2016. A Braskem spokesperson declined to comment further on the disclosure. Odebrecht didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Testimony that Mr. Lozoya gave to Mexico’s Attorney General’s Office, including allegations involving Braskem’s parent company, was leaked to the press last year, adding fuel to what has become the widest-reaching corruption probe in Mexico’s modern history.
Braskem and its parent, construction giant Odebrecht SA, paid a combined $3.5 billion to settle expansive bribery charges with U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities in 2016. A Braskem spokesperson declined to comment further on the disclosure. Odebrecht didn’t respond to a request for comment.
