Brazil’s second-highest court voted on Tuesday to keep the former chief executive of Latin America’s largest engineering group Odebrecht SA in jail, extending nearly six months of pre-trial detention in the southern city of Curitiba
Marcelo Odebrecht was arrested on June 19 and charged with corruption and money laundering a month later as part of a kickback and bribery investigation focused on state-run oil firm Petrobras. His lawyers fiercely contested the legality of his detention.
In justifying the court’s decision, Superior Tribunal of Justice Judge Jorge Mussi pointed on Tuesday to evidence that Odebrecht deposited funds into the bank accounts of former Petrobras executives abroad. The court also voted to keep two other Odebrecht executives, Rogerio Santos de Araujo and Marcio Faria, in jail.
Odebrecht’s defense lawyer, Nabor Bulhoes, said he disagreed with the court’s decision and may appeal with the country’s top judicial body, the Supreme Court.
Brazil Energy Insight 
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