Odebrecht returns to eye of corruption storm
ODEBRECHT, the Brazilian construction giant that has received over $2 billion in Panama government contracts, is once again in the eye of a corruption storm with the publication of a report that the $3 billion subway built for the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro was overvalued by 25%.
The rail link was considered one of the greatest legacies of the Games,
The government, which is mired in financial problems, also ended up paying twice what was agreed in partnership with private companies, according to a document of a state auditor said the newspaper O Globo.
The discrepancies are further clouding the first Olympic Games in South America.
Protesters have taken to the streets in protest because the country is hosting the event at a time when public employees have not received their salaries on time.
The country has spent $12 billion for the construction of Olympic stadiums and infrastructure as the country is in its worst recession since 1930.
Rio de Janeiro auditors state that the subway contracts reveal inconsistencies, such as invoices with extra costs in material and violation of stipulated contracts with services that were never part of the initial treatment. In addition, some bills were valued more the work performed.
The State agency auditor found that the state government had initially agreed with the consortium to pay 45% of the project cost. Now, auditors have found that the government paid 87%. The court of auditors of Rio confirmed the findings but said the report was not yet public because court members needed to approve the document and its findings.
The federal police have been investigating whether the main subway builder consortium, Odebrecht, paid bribes to officials related to expansion. Odebrecht’s former president is serving a near 20 year jail term and seeking to reduce his sentence by collaborating with prosecutors.
A nationwide investigation of the state company Petrobras has revealed how government officials conspired with the richest construction companies using taxpayer money to increase the cost of projects in exchange for bribes
The metro line, which had been scheduled for January, celebrated its opening on Saturday July 30 less than a week before the start of the Games.
