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Germán and José Efromovich (Shipyard Owners in RJ) Were Arrested in a New Phase of Lava-Jato Corruption Investigation
This Wednesday morning, entrepreneurs Germán and José Efromovich were arrested in São Paulo as part of the Lava-Jato Operation. According to authorities, the former owners of Avianca Holdings are being investigated for allegedly paying over 40 million reais to senior officials of Petrobras’s transport subsidiary, Transpetro, to be favored in a contract aimed at buying, selling, and constructing ships in RJ.
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Lava-Jato Operation
The Lava-Jato Operation uncovered a large corruption scheme in Brazil and led to the arrest of several politicians, including former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Similarly, the investigation dates back about eight years and involved construction companies, banks, shipyards, and businessmen. Germán Efromovich was removed from the chairmanship of the board of Avianca Holdings in May 2019 after United Airlines stated that the businessman had defaulted on loans of US $ 456 million granted by the U.S. airline. The executive had secured these loans with his shares in Avianca.
The Warrants, Issued by the 13th Federal Court of Curitiba, Paraná, Are Being Executed in Maceió, São Paulo, and Rio de Janeiro
Transpetro stated that it has been cooperating with the Public Prosecutor’s Office since the beginning of the investigations and is forwarding all relevant information to the competent authorities. “The company reiterates that it is a victim in these processes and provides all the necessary support to the Lava-Jato investigations,” it stated.
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Petrobras in RJ also commented, stating that it is working closely with Lava-Jato investigators and that an internal investigation by Transpetro led to the operation on Wednesday.
According to the Federal Police (PF), the crimes would have been committed in the bidding and contract signing for the purchase and sale of ships carried out by Transpetro, with an unidentified shipyard, within the scope of Promef, the federal program for the restructuring of the Brazilian shipbuilding industry. The investigation found evidence that the shipyard paid bribes to a Transpetro executive at the time (also not identified by the PF), in exchange for favoring its company in the bidding for the construction and supply of ships, at a total amount of over R$ 857 million.
The choice of the shipyard in RJ was made, according to the PF, without considering consultancy studies that indicated that the ship manufacturer would not have the adequate technical and financial conditions for the construction of the vessels.
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