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Minority shareholders suit filed against Petrobras

  • Märkte: Crude oil, Natural gas, Oil products, Petroleum coke
  • 09.12.14

A class action lawsuit on behalf of minority shareholders has been filed against Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras for allegedly committing securities fraud by issuing materially false and misleading statements concerning its operations, according to the claim filed yesterday by New York law firm Wolf Popper.

The lawsuit filed in US District Court in the Southern District of New York stems from recent charges of corruption discovered as part of an ongoing Brazilian federal police investigation. According to the filing, Petrobras violated provisions of the US securities exchange act in failing to disclose widespread corruption at the company and overstating the value of its assets.

Petrobras says it has yet to receive notification of the lawsuit, but the company is already the target of investigations by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and its Brazilian counterpart CVM. Both probes could result in heavy fines for Petrobras, but will likely take years to resolve.

The new lawsuit covers investors who purchased American depository receipts (ADRs) between 20 May 2010 and 21 November 2014. The class of plaintiffs is still being formed, and now only covers one individual investor, Wolf Popper says.

US investors hold around 23pc of Petrobras publicly traded stock, while Brazil's federal government holds almost 51pc of the company's voting shares. The court filing did not specify the amount of damages sought, but it is likely be at least hundreds of millions of dollars, Wolf Popper attorney Robert Finkel told Argus.

The class action suit is likely to be resolved in a settlement agreement, according to some US legal experts. Finkel says the case is the first Wolf Popper has brought against a state-controlled company, but he does not foresee any obstacles considering Petrobras is traded on the New York stock exchange.

Petrobras has maintained it was the "victim" of the scheme that allegedly operated within the company for years. Some US lawyers say this defense has rarely been successful in similar cases.

The lawsuit is another blow to Petrobras as it tries to contain the fallout from the corruption allegations that erupted in the midst of this year´s tense presidential campaign. The firm's share price has plummeted over the past two months, and sunk further today in response to the news of the lawsuit.

Any fines levied on Petrobras would compound financial pressure on the company that is already grappling with increased borrowing costs and lower margins on crude exports because of the sharp decline in oil prices.

Investigations are ongoing on several fronts. Some executives from local construction firms that allegedly engaged in the corruption scheme have confessed to Brazilian authorities.

The Brazilian comptroller CGU has opened investigations into eight of the companies alleged to have participated in a cartel that inflated prices in Petrobras contracts with the knowledge that around 3pc would be diverted to Brazil's ruling Workers party (PT) and its coalition allies.

Yesterday CGU minister Jorge Hage said he was leaving his post after 12 years. Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who chaired Petrobras between 2003 and 2010 and served as Brazil's energy minister between 2003 and 2005, is expected to name his replacement this week.

Rousseff, a leader of the PT, has denied accusations that she was aware of the scheme. Opposition leaders are seeking to impeach her.

Rousseff said the federal government will not interfere with the investigations and that all responsible will face punishment.

After narrowly winning October´s run-off election, Rousseff starts her second term in office on 1 January.

nw/pg

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