Dark Side Case: Layers of Corruption in the Car Wash Scheme

Abstract

Petrobras is an oil and gas giant publicly traded in Brazil and in international stock markets such as the New York Stock Exchange. The company’s main shareholder is Brazil’s federal government. Political influence is at the center of Petrobras’ implication in a massive corruption scheme revealed in 2014. Brazilian Federal Police’s Operation Car Wash disclosed a wide corruption scheme involving Petrobras, members of the Brazilian public administration, and some of the top construction firms in the country. The case focuses on describing how corruption practices spread at Petrobras as well as on the company’s responses to the crisis initiated in March 2014. In the months that followed the scandal, former Petrobras executives involved in the scheme agreed to plea bargains and thus helped reveal an intricate network of corruption practices, including complex forms of bid rigging and bribery. Meanwhile, Petrobras announced the intention to create a Governance, Risk, and Compliance unit that would be in charge of various compliance initiatives. On the other hand, the company expressly denied liability and portrayed itself as a victim of the scheme. Based on rich information from the Car Wash scandal, the case addresses the following questions: what is organizational corruption and what are the main assumptions underlying the design and implementation of anti-corruption strategies?