Brazilian construction executives take plea bargains in Petrobras corruption case

Executives from Brazilian construction firm Odebrecht agreed Wednesday to sign plea bargains amid a leniency deal with prosecutors, collaborating with an investigation into corruption at the national oil company Petrobras.

Marcelo Odebrecht, owner and former chief executive officer of the group, is among 77 executives who have agreed to sign the deal in exchange for reduced sentences, local daily newspaper O Globo reported.

The Latin America's largest construction company and its executives are accused of having participated in a ring which inflated the value of service contracts for Petrobras and other public enterprises, while paying millions of dollars to bribe politicians.

The former CEO was arrested in June 2015, and the company would pay a fine of around 7 billion reais (2.1 billion U.S. dollars).

The testimonies of those having taken the plea bargains will be recorded on video, and sent to the Supreme Court for confirmation as to whether the plea bargains stand for each participant.

In the initial phases of the negotiations, Marcelo Odebrecht and other executives cited at least 130 deputies, senators and ministers and 20 governors and former governors, with the revelations likely to upset the country's already fragile political stability. Endi