Marcelo Odebrecht, the CEO of Brazil’s largest engineering and construction firm, is currently incarcerated on charges related to kickbacks in the procurement of materials for the oil industry from Petrobras. While we refrain from presuming his guilt or innocence, his recent emails raise eyebrows:
On Wednesday, Brazilian police revealed that they intercepted a message from Odebrecht to his lawyers requesting the “destruction of email,” making him the most notable executive arrested in Brazil’s largest corruption probe.
The handwritten communication, published by the Federal Police and shared in online court documents, states “destroy email drilling rigs.”
Marcelo Odebrecht, who heads Brazil’s largest engineering and construction conglomerate, was apprehended in connection with a large-scale investigation into a kickback scheme involving the state-run oil company Petrobras. [ID:nL1N0Z50JB]
Dora Cavalcanti, Odebrecht’s attorney, criticized the release of the note as “an act of extreme bad faith by the police,” asserting that its content and Odebrecht’s intentions were not criminal.
“The phrase ‘destroy email’ was meant to indicate ‘explain’ or ‘refute’ the allegations surrounding the email,” Cavalcanti told Reuters, noting that it was one of several points in Odebrecht’s notes regarding his plea for habeas corpus, or release from unlawful detention.
Clearly, he was referring to metaphorical destruction of the email. Metaphoric destruction, after all, is a common expression. When someone exclaims, “I will destroy you,” they certainly don’t mean literal harm; it’s about damaging a reputation. This is a lesson Mr. Odebrecht seems to be learning firsthand.
On a more serious note, the question arises: does Odebrecht have operations in other oil-producing nations? Given Brazil’s relatively lax compliance regime, could there be issues to probe in other locations? Fortunately, the answer is no. Odebrecht operates solely in strictly regulated, low-corruption jurisdictions:
Odebrecht Oil & Gas provides comprehensive solutions for the upstream oil and gas sector in Brazil and, selectively, in Angola, Venezuela, Argentina, and Mexico, covering both the investment and operations phases.
Good to know there’s nothing alarming here.
Just a moment later: I see the NY Times has published a piece on Angola today:
This video report is one I’ll likely not replicate. It focuses on Angola, an oil-rich and strikingly corrupt nation that also ranks as the most dangerous place in the world for children.
Naturally, Angola is not particularly welcoming to journalists. It took me nearly five years to obtain a journalist visa to enter the country, and given my reporting, I doubt I’ll be granted another visa as long as the current regime holds power. Consequently, at The Times, we dedicated significant resources to explore the impact of corruption on a nation.
I find the most poignant moments are those from rural Angola, in villages devoid of access to medical care or dental services. We traveled for hours along highways and randomly ventured down small dirt roads to discover where they led, stopping in villages to talk with residents. It’s heart-wrenching to witness children suffering from untreated illnesses and being unable to attend school or meet a mother who has lost ten children. It’s not just tragic; it’s infuriating to see this in a nation endowed with oil and diamonds. Then you remember that the daughter of the Angolan president is a billionaire, that Western nations are cozying up to the president — and it becomes imperative to share the stories of the villagers we encountered. We filmed videos to accompany my columns, hoping this will apply pressure on the government to allocate its oil wealth toward healthcare and education for everyday Angolans, rather than solely on luxury for the elite.