Odebrecht
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Company type | Privately held company |
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Industry | Conglomerate |
Founded | 1944 |
Founders | Norberto Odebrecht |
Headquarters | Salvador, Brazil Sao Paulo, Brazil |
Key people | Luciano Guidolin, (CEO) |
Products | Construction, engineering, aerospace, environmental engineering, petrochemicals, chemicals, utilities, ethanol, real estate, infrastructure, defense, transportation, and others |
Revenue | ![]() |
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Number of employees | 181,000[1] |
Subsidiaries | Construtora Norberto Odebrecht Odebrecht Oil and Gas Foz do Brasil Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias Odebrecht Infraestrutura Odebrecht Agroindustrial, Braskem, Odebrecht Administradora E Corretora De Seguros Odeprev Odebrecht Previdência Odebrecht Foundation, Mectron Odebrecht Energia |
Website | www.odebrecht.com |
Odebrecht Organization (Portuguese pronunciation: [odɛˈbɾɛ(t͡)ʃ]) is a Brazilian conglomerate consisting of diversified businesses in the fields of engineering, construction, chemicals and petrochemicals. The company was founded in 1944 in Salvador da Bahia by Norberto Odebrecht, and is now present in South America, Central America, North America, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Its leading company is Norberto Odebrecht Construtora .[2]
Odebrecht S.A. is a holding company for Construtora Norberto Odebrecht S.A., the biggest engineering and contracting company in Latin America, and Braskem S.A., the largest petrochemicals producer in Latin America and one of Brazil's five largest private-sector manufacturing companies. Odebrecht controls Braskem, the fifth largest petrochemical company in the world, with exports to 60 countries in all continents of the world. By revenue, Braskem is the fourth largest petrochemical company in the Americas and the seventeenth in the world.
On 19 June 2015, Brazilian authorities arrested the former CEO, Marcelo Odebrecht, in connection with their ongoing probe into bribes paid by the Brazilian oil giant, Petrobras.[3] On 7 March 2016 he was sentenced to 19 years and 4 months jail, for paying over US$30 million in bribes to executives of Petrobras, in exchange for contracts and influence.[4][5]
Timeline
- 1944–1945: Norberto Odebrecht establishes a privately owned firm, the founding milestone for the Odebrecht Group. The firm becomes Norberto Odebrecht Construtora Ltda.
- 1979–1980: Odebrecht goes international and starts to diversify its business. CBPO merges with the Odebrecht Group.
- 1981: Odebrecht S.A. is created.
- 2002: Odebrecht establishes Braskem as Latin America's largest petrochemical producer. The group reaches the milestones of 1,000 members within 25 years of service.
- 2004–2007: The Odebrecht Group celebrates its 60th anniversary. Odebrecht Agroindustrial is established to produce sugar ethanol, sugar and energy
Corporate structures
- Odebrecht Energia (energy) – Invests, constructs and manages projects in the Latin American electric sector, such as hydroelectric, thermoelectric and nuclear power plants. Emphasis is made on projects in Brazil, Peru and Colombia.
- Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (industrial engineering) – Constructs and assembles industrial facilities in Brazil and abroad, serving clients from a range of different sectors.
- Odebrecht Infraestrutura (infrastructure) – Completes important projects in the transport, sanitation, sports arena and irrigation sectors in Brazil.
- Odebrecht América Latina & Angola (Latin America and Angola) – Leads investments and construction projects in regions that served as the pioneers for Odebrecht's international expansion.
- Odebrecht Venezuela – Invests and completes projects in the infrastructure, real estate, industrial, oil and gas, petrochemical and food security sectors in the country.
- Odebrecht International – Includes operations of 65 different nationalities, maintaining a unique quality standard and respecting the unique characteristics of each region.
- Odebrecht Óleo e Gás S.A. (oil and gas) – Explores and produces oil and gas fields, operates rigs and provides integrated services for other companies from the sector.
- Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliárias S.A. (real estate developments) – Develops residential, business, commercial and tourism ventures.
- Foz do Brasil S.A. – Provides water supply and waste treatment services.
- Odebrecht Agroindustrial S.A. – Produces alcohol fuel (ethanol), electricity and sugar using sugarcane.
- Brasken S.A. – Produces raw materials in an integrated fashion, including ethane, propane and chlorine, as well as second-generation petrochemical products, such as thermoplastic resins.
- Odebrecht Participações e Investimentos – Leads the company's operations in diversified infrastructure sectors, investing in transportation and logistics, energy, sports arenas and irrigation.
- Odebrecht Administradora e Corretora de Seguros Ltda. – Protects the assets of shareholders by identifying, mitigating and managing risks.
- Odeprev – Designs and operates supplementary pension plans for Odebrecht Organization members, preparing them for retirement.
- Fundação Odebrecht (foundation) – Promotes youths' education for life, through work and for values, as well as the sustainable development of productive chains.
Legal problems
![]() | This section needs to be updated.(July 2017) |
The Treasurer of the Brazilian Workers' Party, João Vaccari Neto, was arrested in 2015 for allegedly receiving "irregular donations,"[6] and José Dirceu, former chief of staff for President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, was arrested for orchestrating a large part of the scandal, also in 2015.[7]
Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies (lower house of the Congress of Brazil) Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ), was investigated for allegedly receiving more than USD$40 million in kickbacks and bribes.[8] Former Minister of Mines and Energy Edison Lobão (PMDB) was investigated for receiving more than USD$50 million in bribes from Petrobras and arrested 19 October 2016 and held in custody due to what the justice department of Paraná state called "a concrete possibility of flight given his access to hidden resources abroad, as well as double nationality."[9]
In February 2016, amidst the Peruvian presidential race, a report from the Brazilian Federal Police implicated Peruvian President Ollanta Humala as a recipient of bribes from Odebrecht in exchange for public works contracts. Humala rejected the accusation and has avoided any confrontation with the media on the matter.[10][11] Under the Humala administration Odebrecht received contracts worth US$152 million, in addition to the $7.3 billion Southern Gas Pipeline project and $60 million in contracts with regional governments in Peru.[11]
On 4 March 2016, former Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was detained and questioned for three hours as part of a huge fraud inquiry into the state oil company Petrobras after his house was raided by federal police agents. Lula, who left office in 2011, has denied allegations of corruption. The long-running inquiry known as Operation Car Wash, is probing accusations of corruption and money laundering at Petrobras. Dozens of executives and politicians have been arrested or are under investigation on suspicion of overcharging on contracts with Petrobras and kicking part of the money for bribes and electoral campaigns. Police said they had evidence that Lula, 70, received illicit benefits from the kickback scheme. Lula's institute said in a statement that the "violence" against the former president was "arbitrary, illegal and unjustifiable", as he had been co-operating with the investigations.[12]
According to a political analyst and columnist for TeleSUR, "few imagined that behind this successful business empire laid hidden an entrenched corruption scheme that spread systematically throughout the region with more force than the Zika virus that has plagued Brazil in recent years. Under the leadership of the founder's grandson, Marcelo Odebrecht, one of the largest international corruption scandals was uncovered upon discovering that Odebrecht used deceitful practices to award lucrative public works projects in the countries it operated".[13]
Other politicians involved
Argentina
- Gustavo Arribas, director of Argentina's Federal Intelligence Agency under the government of Mauricio Macri.[14]
Colombia
- Juan Manuel Santos, Colombian president.[15] [16]
- Gabriel García, former Colombian minister of Transportation during the government of Alvaro Uribe.[17]
- Óscar Iván Zuluaga, former Colombian minister of Finance during the government of Alvaro Uribe.[18]
Ecuador
- Mauricio Rodas, Mayor of Quito (Ecuador) and leader of the SUMA party.[19]
Mexico
- Enrique Peña Nieto, Mexican president.[20]
Guatemala
- Alejandro Sinibaldi, former minister of Transports.[21]
- Manuel Baldizón, former deputy of Congress.[22]
Peru
- Alan Garcia, former Peruvian president (American Popular Revolutionary Alliance).[23]
- Alejandro Toledo, former Peruvian president.[24]
- Ollanta Humala and Nadine Heredia, former Peruvian president and former Peruvian First Lady,[25] who have been detained for up to 18 months in connection with this scandal.[26]
- Keiko Fujimori, Peruvian politician (Popular Force).[27]
- Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, Peru's President, who in December 2017 appeared before Congress to defend himself against impeachment over allegations of covering up illegal payments of $782m from Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht to Kuczynski's company Westfield Capital Ltd. Keiko Fujimori, who lost the 2016 presidential elections by a margin of fewer than 50,000 votes, is championing the motion; her party has already forced out five government ministers.[28]
Venezuela
- Nicolás Maduro, President of Venezuela.[29]
- Henrique Capriles, opposition candidate at the 2012 and 2013 presidential elections.[30]
Paradise Papers
On 5 November 2017, the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, revealed that Appleby managed 17 offshore companies for Odebrecht and at least one of them was used as a vehicle for the payment of bribes in Operation Car Wash. Some of these offshore companies are publicly known to operate for Odebrecht in Africa and be involved in bribes. Among those involved in the operation who are named in the papers are Marcelo Odebrecht, his father Emílio Odebrecht, and his brother Maurício Odebrecht.[31]
Rankings
- 2009 Engineering News-Record magazine rankings
- No. 18 The Top 225 International Contractors
- No. 34 The Top 225 Global Contractors
- No. 1 Hydro Plants
- No. 4 Sewerage and Solid Waste
- No. 4 Water Supply
- No. 1 Sanitary and Storm Sewers
- No. 5 Pipelines
- No. 5 Water Treatment and Desalinization
- No. 12 Transportation
- No. 5 Bridges
- No. 7 Highways
- No. 9 Mass Transit
- No. 6 Airports
Notable projects
- USA
- Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
- American Airlines Arena
- FIU Stadium
- Garcon Point Bridge
- I-40 Interchange
- Merrill Barber Bridge
- Miami Metromover
- MIA Mover APM System
- Miami International Airport – north and south terminals, concourse A and E, FAA traffic control tower, Dolphin parking garage, cargo buildings
- Miami Metrorail Miami Intermodal Center-Earlington Heights Connector (in progress)
- Orlando International Airport – north taxiway and south terminal
- Ritz Carlton Hotel, Key Biscayne
- Seven Oaks Dam
- SR 826 Palmetto
- Peru
References
- ^ Odebrecht.com. "About the Group". Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ "Corporate Structure | Odebrecht". 10 July 2012. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Brazil Arrests Head of Odebrecht in Petrobras Scandal". The New York Times. 20 June 2015. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
- ^ Fonseca, Pedro (8 March 2016). "Former Odebrecht CEO sentenced in Brazil kickback case". Reuters. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ "Brazil Petrobras scandal: Tycoon Marcelo Odebrecht jailed". BBC. 8 March 2016. Retrieved 8 March 2016.
- ^ Jelmayer, Rogerio (15 April 2015). "Brazil Police Arrest Workers' Party Treasurer Joao Vaccari Neto". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
- ^ MAGALHAES, LUCIANA (3 August 2015). "Brazilian Police Arrest José Dirceu, Ex-Chief of Staff, in Petrobras Probe". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ Romero, Simon (21 August 2015). "Expanding Web of Scandal in Brazil Threatens Further Upheaval". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
- ^ "Brazil: Eduardo Cunha arrested over alleged corruption: Former lower house speaker detained as part of a probe into corruption at oil giant Petrobras". Al Jazeera. 19 October 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
- ^ Leahy, Joe. "Peru president rejects link to Petrobras scandal". Financial Times. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
- ^ a b Post, Colin. "Peru: Ollanta Humala implicated in Brazil's Carwash scandal". perureports.com. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
- ^ "Brazil Petrobras scandal: Former president Lula questioned". BBC News. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2016.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ Romero, Geovanny Vicente. "Odebrecht: A New Virus Spreads Through Latin America". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ "Jefe de Inteligencia de Macri recibió $600.000 de Odebrecht". Telesur (in Spanish). 11 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Odebrecht admits payments to Colombian presidential campaigns - Xinhua - English.news.cn". news.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ Elcomercio.pe, Redacción (8 February 2017). "Campaña de Santos recibió dinero de Odebrecht, según fiscalía". elcomercio.pe. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ "Colombia Ex-Minister Accepts Charges in Odebrecht Fraud Scandal". Telesur. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
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(help) - ^ "Óscar Zuluaga será investigado por vínculo con Odebretch". Telesur (in Spanish). 7 February 2017. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
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(help) - ^ KP, teleSUR – hr -. "Lasso y Rodas, apellidos del escándalo Odebrecht en Ecuador". Retrieved 24 May 2017.
- ^ Lafuente, Javier (14 August 2017). "La corrupción sacude de nuevo a Peña Nieto". elpais.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ "Guatemala businessman to face graft charges after U.S. deportation". Reuters. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ "Guatemala businessman to face graft charges after U.S. deportation". Reuters. 21 January 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ cg-RT-rg, teleSUR /. "Ex-Odebrecht CEO Admits Payment to Keiko Fujimori Presidential Bid in Peru". telesurtv.net. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ Collyns, Dan (10 February 2017). "Peru ex-president Alejandro Toledo faces arrest on bribery charges". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
- ^ "Odebrecht confirms $3 million bribe paid to Peru's ex-president". perureports.com. 13 April 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ "Ollanta Humala and wife detained in corruption probe". Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
- ^ ms-RT, teleSUR/. "Peru's Keiko Fujimori Implicated in Odebrecht Scandal". telesurtv.net. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ Sanchez, Mariana (21 December 2017). "Peru's Congress debates impeachment of President Kuczynski". Lima: Al Jazeera. Retrieved 22 December 2017.
- ^ Casey, Nicholas (12 October 2017). "Maduro Becomes Latest Leader Accused in Huge Bribery Scheme". Retrieved 14 December 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Reporte: Odebrecht habría financiado campaña de opositor venezolano Capriles". elnuevoherald.com. Retrieved 14 December 2017.
- ^ Delfino, Emilia (8 November 2017). "Paradise Papers: Salen a la luz 17 offshore de Odebrecht y al menos una se usó para sobornos". Perfil. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
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External links
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- Odebrecht
- Conglomerate companies of Brazil
- Chemical companies of Brazil
- Construction and civil engineering companies of Brazil
- Defence companies of Brazil
- Oil and gas companies of Brazil
- Petrochemical companies
- Holding companies of Brazil
- Companies based in Salvador, Bahia
- Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1944
- Energy companies established in 1944
- Non-renewable resource companies established in 1944
- 1944 establishments in Brazil
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