Peru closes in on plea deal with Odebrecht

Peruvian prosecutors and representatives from the maligned company Odebrecht are close to reaching a plea deal over the bribery investigation.

A report from Reuters noted that, in an effort to reduce its further legal liabilities, Odebrecht has been willing to fully cooperate with Peruvian authorities to go in-depth on where bribery payments were made.

The Brazilian engineering giant has been involved in accusation and charges implicating four former presidents and lawmakers when doling out bribes to the country in exchange for prized public works contracts. Odebrecht has admitted to paying $29 million worth of bribes in Peru alone, though experts and third-party authorities expect the amount to be more.

Just recently, Popular Force leader Keiko Fujimori was given three-year preventive prison sentence for charges that she accepted lucrative bribes from Odebrecht during her failed presidential campaigns.

“Odebrecht Peru maintains its commitment to collaborate with the justice administration and to the confidentiality of the case, so it is unable to make any comment on the matter,” the Peru branch of the company told Reuters.

Earlier this year, Peru demanded $1 billion in damages from Odebrecht, which was only willing to offer $66 million at the time.

Fallout from the corruption scandal left more than 100 Peru businesses in bankruptcy and thousands of workers without jobs.

Michael Krumholtz: