Reuters Quotes Charles Connolly on Petrobras Settlements

Charles Connolly, a partner in Akin Gump’s litigation practice, has been quoted in the Reuters article “Petrobras settlements show company eager to resolve corruption cases,” which follows news that Brazil’s state-run oil company has decided to settle several investor lawsuits over corruption allegations.

The article reports that the settlements represent just a fraction of the 27 individual lawsuits and one class action case filed against the company in U.S. courts. Investors have been suing Petrobras for allegedly covering up a large graft scheme and publishing misleading accounts. They believe the corruption and mismanagement have helped to destroy nearly $200 billion of shareholder value since 2008.

Any resolution in the civil cases, however, is not likely to affect corruption investigations by U.S. and Brazilian authorities. “As much as the investors and bondholders think that they are getting some of this civil litigation behind them, they still have the U.S. government investigation hanging over them,” said Connolly.