Lava Jato plea deals total US$2.6bn

The corruption scandals that have dominated Brazilian business and politics over the last three years have resulted in leniency agreements that already tot up to 8.427bn reais (US$2.58bn) in fines.

The last few weeks alone saw airline controller Gol and petrochemical firm Braskem sign agreements for 12mn reais and 3.1bn reais, respectively, reported local daily Estadão. Another 21 deals are being negotiated, with five of them at an advanced stage, according to information from the ministry of transparency.

Leniency agreements in Brazil guarantee companies the right to continue to compete in public bidding processes and to avoid criminal investigations. In return, they agree to provide information about corruption cases, not to engage in any further illegal activities and to cooperate with the authorities.

Negotiations with Braskem, the petrochemical company that Odebrecht owns in partnership with Petrobras, are part of the 6.8bn-real agreement signed by the Odebrecht Group with Lava Jato attorneys.

Other agreements that have already been signed within the scope of the Lava Jato investigation are with engineering conglomerate Andrade Gutierrez (1bn reais), industrial conglomerate Camargo Corrêa (700mn reais), engineering and construction firm Setal (15mn reais) and construction company Carioca Engenharia (undisclosed). Two other companies, whose names have not been revealed, are also said to have signed leniency agreements.

Gol is expected to provide information regarding payments made in 2012 and 2013 to former lower house speaker Eduardo Cunha and his associates.

Cunha was impeached on September 12 in a landslide congressional vote and was stripped of his seat in congress, leading him to lose the legal privileges that protect federal legislators from going to prison. He was then arrested on October 19 on corruption charges.

The former lower house speaker is facing graft charges that allege he is one of the main players in the Lava Jato scandal. He is accused of taking as much as US$40mn in bribes and then laundering the money through an evangelical megachurch.