Ex-Petrobras Trader ‘Phil Collins’ Says Vitol Bribed Him
- Tell judge that Vitol deposited payments into Swiss account
- Brazil prosecutors say investigation targets ‘top’ executives
This article is for subscribers only.
A former Petroleo Brasileiro SA oil trader who went by the code name “Phil Collins” told a Brazilian judge he received bribes from Vitol Group to favor the firm in contracts with the crude producer, court documents show.
Carlos Roberto Martins Barbosa said he collected payoffs between 2003 and 2005 to steer fuel oil contracts to Vitol with Petrobras, as the state-controlled company is known, and give Vitol more favorable terms. Payments equivalent to 12 cents per barrel were deposited by Vitol into his bank account in Switzerland, according to his Oct. 23 testimony, which was published for the first time on a court website in Brazil’s Parana state.