Brazilian prosecutors charge former Petrobras CEO with corruption

Brazilian prosecutors charged Aldemir Bendine , former president of the Bank of Brazil and Petrobras , with corruption. In 2015 , Aldemir Bendine served as CEO of Petrobras and was brought to clean up the firm after Brazil's massive political scandal .

Bendine, arrested late last month, was accused by Brazilian prosecutors of using his position to take bribes from construction firm Odebrecht .

According to the prosecutors, former Petrobras CEO solicited R$ 3 million (about USD$ 947,270 ) to Odebrecht in 2015 while Petrobras allegations were being investigated.

According to the Brazilian authorities, Aldemir Bendine received the bribe and consulted Petrobras legal department to benefit Odebrecht, but he was not able to fulfill the promised favors to the construction firm due to the detention order for Marcelo Odebrecht .

Prosecutor Athayde Ribeiro Costa told reporters that if convicted, Aldemir Bendine could be sentenced to 25 years in prison.

Bendine presided over two of the greatest public institutions during Dilma Rousseff 's ( 2011-2016 ). In his speeches, when he served as CEO of Petrobras in 2015, he said he was willing to regain the credibility of the oil company.

Bendine was arrested based on the plea-bargain testimony of Marcelo Odebrecht, former Odebrecht CEO, who was sentenced to 19 years in prison for corruption.

Petrobras deviation investigation started three years ago and it has sent several businessmen of the main Brazilian construction firms, former CEOs of the oil company and important politicians who favored corruption to prison.

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