6 Oct 2009 - by PreSalt.com - Source: Petrobras News
Senator João Pedro (PT-AM), the chair of the Petrobras CPI, closed the tenth session of the commission, which discussed the Deepwater Operation, at 4:55 PM. Petrobras’ executive manager for Exploration & Production Services, Erardo Gomes Barbosa Filho, the company’s manager for Critical Item Contracting Strategy, Ilton José Rossetto Filho, Federal Police chief, Cláudio Nogueira, and federal prosecutor Carlos Alberto Gomes de Aguiar testified today. Next Tuesday’s meeting will be administrative and will not hold any hearings.
During the session, the deponents highlighted Petrobras’ wide-ranging collaboration with the Federal Police and with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office’s investigations. Federal Police chief, Cláudio Nogueira, started the presentation about the Deep Waters Operation, which investigated evidence of fraud in bidding procedures held by Petrobras. He showcased the operation’s timeline, which proved irregularities that benefitted the Angraporto outfit.
In addition to Angraporto, Petrobras and State Environmental Engineering Foundation (Feema) employees, other companies, and a Federal Police agent took part in the scheme. In total, 26 people were indicted.
Nogueira emphasized the investigation counted on important support from Petrobras. “The company’s asset security and intelligence areas provided unconditional support to the work done by the Federal Police and by the Prosecutor’s Office,” he said.
Federal prosecutor Carlos Alberto Gomes de Aguiar then provided more information about the Deep Waters Operation, and also stressed the importance of Petrobras’ support during the investigations. “We needed information about the contracts and bidding procedures and we asked for Petrobras’ assistance to get it. The company responded immediately,” he said.
The prosecutor highlighted the fact that the work carried out by Petrobras’ internal audit was one of the operation’s strong points. “They did an impeccable job,” he said. “Their help was a decisive factor in order for the frauds to surface and to show that what happened was an isolated, not a systemic fact,” he completed.
Petrobras’ executive manager for Exploration & Production Services, Erardo Gomes Barbosa Filho, stressed that whenever necessary, Petrobras works in cooperation with the Federal Police and with the Federal Prosecutor’s Office. “In the case of the Deep Waters Operation, we provided them with all of the information about the employees who were involved, we carried out a special audit to follow-up on the bidding procedures, and avoided taking any measures that could influence the outcome of the investigation,” he said.
According to Gomes, Petrobras had already delivered the internal audit report when the Federal Prosecutor’s office issued criminal indictments against 26 people, five of whom Petrobras employees. The executive manager emphasized that after the indictments, Petrobras fired three employees for just cause and suspended two others. “These were employees who acted in bad faith,” stressed Gomes.
The executive manager also said Petrobras created an internal commission to assess the companies involved in the bidding procedure. The report, produced in secrecy, was delivered to the Prosecutor’s Office. “Furthermore, we have also provided information to the outside control agencies, such as the CGU (the Federal Inspector’s General Office) and the TCU (the Federal Court of Auditors,” he stated.
Petrobras’ manager for Critical Item Contracting Strategy, Ilton José Rossetto Filho, informed the company undergoes internal audits nearly daily. “Additionally, we are audited by the TCU, by the CGU, and by the Securities Exchange Commission (CVM),” he said. Rossetto Filho stated the outside ombudsman’s office is also an important agency in the assessment work the company performs.
Rossetto Filho stressed that all of the bidding procedures Petrobras holds are registered online in a contracting module that is subject to strict access control. “This renders all of activities in the system easy to trace, and this is very important for the follow-up and inspection process,” he noted.
Regarding the claim made by senator Álvaro Dias (PSDB-PR), that 29 days of suspension would be an insignificant punishment” for the two employees involved in the fraud, Federal Prosecutor Carlos Alberto Gomes de Aguiar said he does not believe “Petrobras will have a condescending posture” regarding this issue.
According to Petrobras’ executive manager for Exploration & Production Services, the two employees were not suspended because they made managerial mistakes in the bidding procedures, but their behavior did not justify their termination, unlike that of the three employees who were terminated.
Regarding the Company’s bidding procedures, Erardo Gomes informed Petrobras has invested in qualifying and training the professionals involved in hiring goods and services. “We are always in search of ongoing improvements, with increasingly qualified professionals and training is very important to achieve this,” he emphasized.
Senator Gim Argello (PTB-DF) complimented Petrobras’ willingness to assist in the investigations. “Petrobras is the national pride. It signs 240,000 agreements per year and is the first to help when irregularities are found. This proves its honesty, transparency, and competency,” he said.
Senator Delcídio Amaral (PT-MS) also highlighted Petrobras’ "transparent and helpful” stance during the investigations. “As soon as it was informed about the investigations by the Prosecutor’s Office, the company adopted measures to facilitate the investigations, providing all of the information that was requested and creating special secret audits to look into the irregularities involving the platforms,” he said.
The senator emphasized Petrobras only didn’t suspended the employees who were investigated previously in order to not hinder the Federal Prosecutor and Federal Police investigations. He also stressed the company is now waiting for an internal investigation to be completed to remove the companies that were guilty of fraud from its supplier reference file. “The company is investigating this to take the required measures,” he noted.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
