MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Petrobras whistleblower says Rousseff's party received US$ 200 million from Petrobras contracts
Pedro Barusco, a former executive at Petrobras' services division, said he had received payments as early as 1997 and in larger amounts starting in 2004 
Vaccari, treasurer for Rousseff's political party is believed to have received up US$ 200 million between 2003 and 2014, based on contracts' percentages 
Ex-Petrobras CEO Foster, who resigned along with other senior Petrobras management last month, 'was not involved' according to Barusco A former Petrobras executive told a congressional hearing in Brazil on Tuesday that the ruling political party received up to 200 million dollars skimmed from contracts with the state-run oil company, reiterating claims made in plea bargain testimony.
Pedro Barusco, a former executive at Petrobras' services division, said he had received payments as early as 1997 and in larger amounts starting in 2004. He said Workers' Party treasurer João Vaccari and Renato Duque, who previously ran the services unit, also benefited.
Barusco estimated Vaccari, treasurer for President Dilma Rousseff's political party, had received between 150 million and 200 million dollars between 2003 and 2014, based on the percentages of contracts he himself had received.
“I got a piece; they got a piece,” Barusco said. He has pledged to return 97 million to public coffers as part of a deal he reached with prosecutors.
Barusco spoke at a time of escalating fallout from the scandal at Petrobras, with dozens of lawmakers now implicated.
Barusco said he did not know who ultimately ran the scheme and to his knowledge Former Petrobras CEO Maria das Graças Foster, who resigned along with other senior Petrobras management last month, was not involved.
Prosecutors started questioning Vaccari on February 5 but he has not been charged with any crime. His lawyer and Workers' Party leadership say the party only receives legal donations. Duque was briefly jailed last year and does not face criminal charges.
Forty people, including two other former Petrobras executives, have been charged in the southern city of Curitiba and 14 are currently in jail awaiting sentencing.
Many of those charged lead the country's top engineering firms and are charged with forming a cartel that funneled funds from Petrobras contracts to themselves and politicians.
Barusco said he first remembered seeing the cartel active on contracts to build the Abreu e Lima and Comperj refineries.
Defense lawyers told reporters this week they expect to see the first verdicts on some cases in Curitiba in about a month, possibly before all witnesses are heard, as the focus of the case moves to the politicians being tried by the Supreme Court.
Rousseff, who was chairwoman of the company's board when much of the graft took place, has denied any knowledge of corruption at Petrobras and urged a thorough investigation.
Top Comments
Disclaimer & comment rules-
-
-
Read all comments“A former Petrobras executive told a congressional hearing in Brazil on Tuesday that the ruling political party received up to 200 million dollars skimmed from contracts with the state-run oil company, reiterating claims made in plea bargain testimony.”
Mar 11th, 2015 - 03:21 am 0Honestly, is any outside observer surprised by this?
When will the PT-supporting populace realise that when the Govt. 'ran out of spending other people's money' it was the nation's money they were spending, (on themselves), and the hand-outs you were getting were mere bread-crumbs from the top-table in order to keep you subservient whilst they lined their pockets?
Glad to see 'the truth will out'.
But will they ever learn?
Brazil has just forced itself down the global league table.
Anyone wanna buy a shit-bric[k].?
Can't see the PA wanting to get involved anymore.
Can't see the EU so keen to do deals.
China has no friends, but will probably still be interested, it likes mopping up the excrement and filtering any nuggets left. Good Luck with that...
I think the film is Mississippi Burning when the persecuted black man gets to interrogate the klansman and boy oh boy does that fella shit his pants, that's what needs to happen to this filth that robs Brazil yet denies involvement.
Mar 11th, 2015 - 03:40 am 0@2
Mar 11th, 2015 - 04:09 am 0Interesting analogy.
I'd also add the scene in Pulp Fiction. “gonna get medieval on his ass, [arse]”
Remember the 'gimp' scene when the black guy get's his revenge?'
I'm still not sure that the population of Brazil realises just how badly they have been screwed by these purported 'socialists' that claimed to be on their 'own side'.
At least previously they knew the score.
Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!