A former official at state-controlled Petroleo Brasileiro SA, jailed as part of a corruption investigation in Brazil, has linked financier André Esteves to the payment of bribes to a ruling coalition politician, Valor Econômico newspaper said on Tuesday.
The executive, Nestor Cerveró, told prosecutors in the case known as Operation Car Wash that Esteves and his partner in a chain of fuel stations called Derivados do Brasil paid about 10 million reais ($2.6 million) in bribes to Senator Fernando Collor de Mello, Valor said, citing documents to which it had access.
The bribes were linked to a deal in which Derivados received 150 million reais to exclusively sell gasoline and fuels produced by Petrobras, as Petroleo is commonly known, Valor said. Cerveró, a former head of Petrobras’ international unit, testified on Nov. 19 as part of a plea bargain in the Car Wash case, Valor said.
Esteves, the founder and former chief executive officer of Grupo BTG Pactual SA, was arrested on Nov. 25 for allegedly seeking to obstruct Cerveró’s testimony and pursuit of a plea bargain. Esteves relinquished his executive duties at BTG Pactual and exited the holding that controls the bank after his pre-trial detention was extended for an indefinite period.
The bank has repeatedly said Derivados was a personal investment by Esteves and not linked to BTG Pactual’s proprietary position. In his testimony, Cerveró made no distinction between Esteves and BTG Pactual and did not say who negotiated the bribe in the transaction, according to Valor.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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