Costa and Youssef stick to divergent stories on kickback payments

Currency dealer Alberto Youssef and former Petrobras director Paulo Roberto Costa were summoned to a confrontation hearing with the Congressional Committee of Investigation (CPI) on the corruption case at Petrobras. Throughout the session, held Tuesday (Aug. 25), the inconsistencies that emerged in previous testimonies persisted. Inconguities were also found in the statements regarding the alleged funds funneled to President Dilma Rousseff's 2010 election campaign.

Costa and Youssef are jailed for their roles in the corruption scheme involving Petrobras, investigated under the Federal Police Operation Car Wash. They are also facing prosecution in other cases spinning off from the same investigation and signed plea bargain deals in exchange for more lenient sentences.

In his statements to the Federal Court, Costa said former Minister Antonio Palocci, who was Rousseff's campaign manager, solicited $570,000 from the corruption scheme. According to him, the money was channeled by Youssef, who denied making the transfer. “I don't know Palocci, or his adviser, or his brother, and I did not make the transfer. But there is another defendant. He's also been collaborating with the authorities and making his statements. There's an investigation targeting Palocci and you'll soon find out who transferred the funds,” Youssef told the congressional committee during the hearing.

Asked whether someone in the presidency was aware of the scheme, Youssef said he could not say for sure, but believed so, based on conversations with Costa.

Costa said, however, that he never dealt with issues relating to Petrobras with Dilma Rousseff—then chair of the board of the state-run oil company—or with former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “I can't tell whether she knew about it or not,” he declared.

To the astonishment of the congressmen present, when Deputy Celso Pansera, of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB, a party in the governing coalition), asked Youssef who had been intimidating him, the latter replied that Pansera himself had intimidated him as well as his family: “That would be you, Sir. You know that my daughters have never been involved in fraud or had property title or anything of the sort. But you keep insisting on it.”

Pansera rebutted the allegations saying he was feeling under threat at that very moment and asked the committee to take action. He has requested to have Youssef's and his daughters' tax, telephone, and banking details disclosed.

Deputy Jorge Sola of the Workers' Party (PT) wanted to learn from Youssef whether money from Furnas had been given to Senator Aécio Neves, of the opposition Brazilian Social Democracy Party (PSDB). The money changer confirmed that former congressman José Janene, of the Progressive Party (PP), now deceased, told him that he "split [the kickback money from projects run by] the department" at Furnas along with then Deputy Aécio Neves.

Furnas, a subsidiary of Petrobras in the electric sector, linked with the Ministry of Mines and Energy, was involved in a bribery scheme also led by Youssef, from 1996 to 2000.

Youssef was also asked whether any kickback payments were made to Minas Gerais Senator Antonio Anastasia, also a member of the PSDB. He replied that he did channel bribe money to Minas Gerais, but was unable to determine whether it was Senator Anastasia who received it.

Youssef also confirmed a $2.8 million payment made in 2009 to Senator Sérgio Guerra, then president of the PSDB, who died in 2014. The money was sent in an attempt to evade a Congress investigation into Petrobras.

Also during the hearing, both Youssef and Costa confirmed another payment, this time totaling $280 thousand, funneled to PT Senator Gleisi Hoffmann's campaign in 2010. The funds originated from the same embezzlement scheme at the oil giant.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira / Mayra Borges

*This story was updated on 27/08/15 at 10:27 am in order to correct information in the translation.