Brazil: CADE reaches agreement with Odebrecht to investigate airport cartels

The General Superintendence of the Administrative Council of Economic Defense (CADE) of Brazil has struck a leniency agreement with construction company Odebrecht as it investigates an alleged economic cartel dedicated to distributing public works at airports managed by the company Infraero (Empresa Brasileira de Infraestructura Aeroportuaria).

With the agreement Odebrecht admits its participation, committing itself to assisting the authority during its investigation in exchange for a reduced sanction. The agreement, part of the extensive Lava Jato (Car Wash) investigation, revealed that the 19 companies involved would have pooled the bidding results in order to divide the airport expansion and modernization works, including contracts at the Belo Horizonte, Congonhas, Garulhos, Forianópolis, Goiania, Macaé, Santos Dumont, Macapá and Vitória airports.

In a statement, Odebrecht confirmed the agreement with CADE and reported that, since December 2016, it had signed agreements with the Federal Public Ministry and various authorities to cooperate with the investigation across various states and municipalities, in addition to reforming its measures of Conformity and Governance, in addition to adopting a broad anticorruption training program and training on competition law.
Full Content: Globo

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.