Brazil's Rousseff Vows Clean-Up Of Scandal-Tainted Petrobras

Reuters

SAO PAULO, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, dogged by a multibillion-dollar corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras, vowed on Thursday to stamp out graft at the flagship firm and place it under strict corporate governance.

In a speech in the capital, Brasilia, Rousseff urged Brazilians not to lose faith in the vital oil producer, formally known Petróleo Brasileiro SA , which government officials have long touted as the crown jewel of Latin America's largest economy.

She also called for a nationwide "pact to fight corruption."

Federal prosecutors have charged 39 people over the past week in an estimated $3.76 billion (10-billion-real) bribery scheme at Petrobras.

Those indicted include two former Petrobras division heads and more than 20 executives of Brazil's biggest construction and engineering companies.

State-level prosecutors in Rio de Janeiro are seeking further indictments, including that of former Petrobras Chief Executive Officer Jose Sergio Gabrielli.

Rousseff was chairwoman of Petrobras from 2003 to 2010 when much of the alleged graft and money-laundering scheme took place at the company. She has said previously that she did nothing wrong and has pledged to get to the bottom of the scandal.


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