Petrobras scandal, Brazilian political corruption scandal beginning in 2014 that involved the indictment of dozens of high-level businesspeople and politicians as part of a widespread investigation alleging that many millions of dollars had been kicked back to officials of Petrobras, Brazil’s huge majority-state-owned oil company, and to politicians especially members of the ruling Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores; PT) of Pres. Dilma Rousseff by prominent Brazilian corporations in return for contracts with Petrobras. The malfeasance was revealed by a federal investigation begun in 2014 under the code name Lava Jato (“Car Wash”). The massive scheme to defraud Petrobras Brazil’s largest enterprise and a
Petrobras scandal, Brazilian political corruption scandal beginning in 2014 that involved the indictment of dozens of high-level businesspeople and politicians as part of a widespread investigation alleging that many millions of dollars had been kicked back to officials of Petrobras, Brazil’s huge majority-state-owned oil company, and to politicians especially members of the ruling Workers’ Party (Partido dos Trabalhadores; PT) of Pres. Dilma Rousseff by prominent Brazilian corporations in return for contracts with Petrobras. The malfeasance was revealed by a federal investigation begun in 2014 under the code name Lava Jato (“Car Wash”). The massive scheme to defraud Petrobras Brazil’s largest enterprise and a