Braskem S.A., which is headquartered in Sao Paulo and is the largest petrochemical company in South America, announced on May 31, 2019 that it had signed a R$2.9 billion (approximately US $750 million) leniency agreement with the Brazilian Office of the Federal Controller General (CGU) and the Office of the General Counsel of the Federal Government (AGU). The agreement covers the same facts as the global settlement entered into by the Company in December 2016 with the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor’s Office, the US Department of Justice, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Swiss Office of the Attorney General. That settlement, which entailed $3.5 billion in global criminal penalties, resolved allegations that Braskem and Odebrecht used an Odebrecht business unit, the Division of Structured Operations, to manage a shadow budget, channel funds to offshore entities, and systematically pay hundreds of millions of dollars to corrupt officials in Europe and North and South America through offshore shell companies. In connection with this latest settlement with the CGU and AGU, Braskem will receive a credit of approximately R$2.5 billion against the leniency agreement penalty based on the amount Braskem paid in the 2016 settlement.
Braskem news (31 May 2019) | Braskem news (27 May 0219) | DOJ news release (2016)