Jailbird Prince Odebrecht moves to house arrest

BILLIONAIRE  tycoon Marcelo Odebrecht, known as “The Prince” and center of the biggest corruption scandal in the history of Latin America, which has shaken governments throughout the region headed for home on Tuesday, Dec. 19 from the Brazilian jail cell he has occupied since his arrest in June 2015.

He left the prison in Curitiba after purging a 10-year sentence to move to house arrest reports the AFP news agency.

Odebrecht, 49,  was transferred in an escorted black 4×4, with a  stop on the way escort, to the court where an electronic anklet was attached.

From there he was expected to go to his home in Sao Paulo where he will only be able to leave on rare occasions and receive a limited number of visits.

Nicknamed The Prince, Marcelo Odebrecht led the largest construction company in Latin America, responsible for works throughout the world, from the stadium of the Miami Heat basketball team to hydroelectric plants in Angola with frequent stops in Panama to fulfil billions of dollars in contracts from various administrations.

He is the grandson of the founder and third generation of a group of presidents who formed a conglomerate with activities in other sectors, such as engineering, agriculture and petrochemicals.

The collapse began on June 19, 2015, when Odebrecht was arrested, in the Lava Jato investigation, accused of paying bribes to dozens of leaders of all political shades to obtain contracts in the state Petrobras.

After resisting a hail of accusations, for almost two years, the group agreed to reveal their crimes to soften sentences and enable the company to survive.survive.

Some, 77 executives and managers signed an agreement and reported in detail the gears of corruption and  Marcelo was able to reduce thanks to that to 10 years his initial sentence, of more than 19 years in prison.