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Bloomberg
Petroleos Mexicanos has hired the same legal representation used by Brazilian utility Eletrobras to audit its contracts with Odebrecht SA and affiliate Braskem SA amid an ongoing investigation into those two companies by the US Department of Justice.
Hogan Lovells US LLP, which for the past two years has been leading an internal audit of state-owned Eletrobras related to the Carwash graft probe in Brazil, was hired to conduct an internal investigation of Pemex’s contracts with Odebrecht and Braskem, the Mexican oil company said in an emailed statement. Pemex’s legal director, Jorge Kim, said last week Pemex hired legal representation to carry out an internal investigation and “clear up the facts,†without naming the firm.
In December, Odebrecht and Braskem both pleaded guilty to conspiring to pay bribes in violation of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The Justice Department said Odebrecht paid about $10.5 million to Mexico public servants between 2010 and 2014 to win contracts, and that payments of as much as $6 million were made to a senior officer of a Mexico state-owned company.
The DOJ hasn’t confirmed that Pemex is the Mexico state-owned company mentioned
in the investigation, according to a Pemex representative
who can’t be named due to company policy.