Brazil Deepens Bribery Probe
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Friday, October 23, 2015
Brazil’s Parliamentary Commission of Inquiry (CPI) has recommended the deepening of investigations into 10 companies - including Keppel, SembCorp Marine and Kawasaki Heavy- involved in the alleged bribery transactions with Petrobras and Sete Brasil.
The investigations follow allegations by a former engineering manager at Petrobras, which is caught up in a massive procurement corruption scandal that has contributed to efforts to impeach Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff.
Singapore rig builder Keppel Corp. Ltd said in a statement its unit Keppel FELS Brasil intends to extend its full cooperation to the authorities if approached.
Keppel reiterates its zero-tolerance stance against any form of illegal activity, including bribery and corruption, involving its employees or associates, and will take all necessary steps to eradicate such conduct if discovered.
Keppel FELS and its network of offshore yards are one of the world's biggest makers of offshore jackup rigs.
The on-going allegations are that Keppel FELS and Jurong Shipyard were among a group of companies that paid bribes through intermediaries to win contracts relating to the construction of 21 deepwater drillships valued at $800m each.
The firm rejected in February any involvement in the bribery scandal. Keppel said then it had a contract with an agent named in the scandal in Brazil, but said its official were banned from accepting bribes.