Another past Petrobras director arrested
Nestor Cerveró, former International Director of Petrobras
In the early morning hours today (Jan. 14), the Federal Police arrested Nestor Cerveró, former International Director of Petrobras, as he arrived at Tom Jobim International Airport in Rio back from London.
Police held him at a specially designated airport room to wait while his home and homes of relatives were searched for incriminating evidence. He was then sent on board a commercial flight to Curitiba, Paraná, where other suspects under Operation Car Wash are jailed.
In a statement, the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (MPF) reported that Cerveró was arrested as a preventive measure to protect public and economic order and to prevent him from committing further wrongdoing.
The MPF went on to report that the Council for Financial Activity Control (COAF) obtained information suggesting that Cerveró tried to transfer $188,700 to his daughter even though he would lose a significant amount of money in the transaction. Based on the same information, he has also tried to transfer property purchased with dubious money, below their market value.
On the other side, Cerveró's lawyer Edson Ribeiro told Agência Brasil that the attempt by past Petrobras International director to transfer assets to his children was legal. “There's nothing illegal with that. When he transferred assets to his children, there were no administrative or legal restrictions against him.”
Ribeiro said the arrest came as a surprise. “I had told the authorities my client Nestor Cerveró had been willing to cooperate with the Public Prosecutors and the Federal Courts since April 10th, but none of them showed any interest in hearing him. Nobody contacted him until yesterday. Even when he went to England I let the Public Prosecutor's Office and the Federal Police know that he was traveling abroad and would be back in January. I even gave them his stay address,” he said.
The lawyer said he is planning to file for habeas corpus later this Wednesday (14).
Cerveró was charged with money laundering and bribery by the MPF in December, and became a defendant in the Operation Car Wash case along with currency dealer Alberto Youssef; Fernando Antonio Falcão Soares, who is suspected of being PMDB's man in the scheme (PMDB is the main government-allied party), as well as executives from a large number of contractors working for Petrobras.
As part of a plea bargain agreement, former Petrobras Downstream director Paulo Roberto Costa implicated Cerveró as one of the main beneficiaries in the kickback scheme involving the purchase of a refinery in Pasadena, US, by Petrobras – a transaction that has caused the state-run oil company to lose $792 million.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Another past Petrobras director arrested
