MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US judge sentences Odebrecht to pay US$ 2.6 billion in fines

U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie said in a Brooklyn federal court that US$2.39 billion will go to Brazil, US$116 million to Switzerland and US$93million to the US

A United States judge on Monday sentenced Brazilian engineering company Odebrecht SA to pay US$2.6 billion in fines in a massive criminal corruption case, signing off on a plea deal between the company and U.S., Brazilian and Swiss authorities.

 Odebrecht, along with affiliated petrochemical company Braskem SA, pleaded guilty to U.S. bribery charges in December. U.S. authorities charged Odebrecht with paying about US$788 million in bribes to officials in 12 countries, mostly in Latin America, to secure lucrative contracts.

Some of those bribes flowed through U.S. banks, the prosecutors said.

Monday's order comes as Odebrecht tries to negotiate plea deals with other countries, including Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Panama and Portugal.

The charges against Odebrecht stemmed from a nearly three-year investigation in Brazil into corruption at the state-run oil company Petrobras, which has led to dozens of arrests and political upheaval in Brazil.

Brazilian President Michel Temer said on Monday he expects some of his ministers to resign after they were accused of wrongdoing by Odebrecht executives in plea bargain testimonies and placed under investigation by a Supreme Court justice.