Federal Police enter the offices of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz Ltda (“EJA”), a Brazilian subsidiary of Sembcorp Marine, an offshore platform manufacturer in Singapore.
In a filing on the Singapore Stock Exchange, SembCorp Marine said the search warrant Brazilian authorities were executing related to Operation Lava Jato in Brazil, which is a years-long investigation into a corruption scandal involving Petrobras.
SembcorpMarine said, “The company fully cooperated with the Brazilian Federal Police and provided materials within the scope of the warrant. The Company understands that this search was in relation to investigations against Guilherme Esteves de Jesus, a former consultant hired by EJA in Brazil. ”
“Guilherme Esteves de Jesus was arrested by the Brazilian Federal Police. He currently faces ongoing criminal charges that have not been completed,” said SembcorpMarine.
Current investigations also involve Martin Cheah Kok Choon, former president of Estaleiro Jurong Aracruz.
“The company wishes to reiterate that the Group is committed to the highest standards of compliance with anti-corruption laws and does not and will not tolerate any improper business conduct,” said SembcorpMarine.
This is not the first time that Sembcorp Marine has been linked to the bribery scandal in the Brazilian oil sector, and this is not the first time that Guilherme Esteves de Jesus has been mentioned in relation to alleged corruption.
Namely, Guilherme Esteves de Jesus was arrested in March 2015 as a person connected to drilling contracts between Sete Brasil and Sembcorp Marine, after a former Petrobras director accused Singapore's two largest construction companies, Sembcorp Marine and Keppel, from paying bribes to obtain equipment contracts in Brazil. Both companies at the time issued statements denying the allegations.
However, in 2017, Keppel agreed to pay fines totaling $422 million to settle charges stemming from a decade-long scheme of paying millions of dollars in bribes to public officials in Brazil.
According to admissions and court documents, beginning at least in 2001 and continuing through at least 2014, Keppel paid approximately $55 million in bribes to employees of Brazilian state-owned Petrobras and the then political party in Brazil, in order to win 13 contracts with Petrobras and another Brazilian entity.
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