Ever since Rio de Janeiro won the bid to host the 2016 Olympics five years ago, the game’s organizing committee “has faced growing scrutiny,” according to Samantha Pearson of the FINANCIAL TIMES. Few could have imagined that “one of the committee’s biggest challenges would be an alleged bribery and kickback scheme at state-run oil company Petrobras, believed to be the largest corruption scandal” in the country’s history. Prosecutors have charged more than 20 executives from six of the country’s top construction groups for “allegedly taking part in the scheme by fixing bids on inflated Petrobras contracts, paying bribes and funnelling money” to members of Congress. The allegations have “already made it harder for the companies to access capital and threaten to bring to a halt” not only work on the Olympic arenas but also 871B reais ($321.5B) of planned government infrastructure projects, including vital port upgrades and airport terminals. Aside from OAS and Mendes, execs from Camargo Corrêa, Engevix, Galvão Engenharia and UTC Engenharia were also charged. Odebrecht, Brazil’s largest construction company and a “key player in the country’s foreign policy agenda and development projects,” was absent from the list (FT, 12/29).
