translated from Spanish: Odebrecht: Brazil bankruptcy will not affect its operations in Panama

Panama.- Multinational Odebrecht assured that the bankruptcy process that has been hosted in Brazil does not affect its operations in Panama, so it will continue to “comply with all contracts and judicial obligations” it has in the Central American country.” Negotiations in Brazil with holding company Odebrecht S.A do not affect the operation of Odebrecht Ingeniería & Construcción (OEC) in Panama. OEC is a company with its own government and capital structure,” the company said in a statement to which Efe had access.
The construction company, the Panamanian State’s largest contractor, “will continue to deliver the projects on time, with quality, benefiting communities and complying with all contracts and judicial obligations,” the note added. 
The holding company of Odebrecht, involved in a global bribery payment scandal, on Monday applied for Brazil’s bankruptcy law to restructure R$83.627 billion (about $21.4 billion). This is the largest bankruptcy law order in Brazil’s history, ahead of the request of Oi, one of the largest telephony companies in the country and filed for bankruptcy in 2016, with debts of R$65 billion (about $16.665 million). The construction company explained that in the decision it sees the “economic crisis” that hit Brazil in recent years, the “impact on its reputation due to the mistakes made” and the “difficulty” faced by companies that collaborate with Justice in “receiving new credit and have their services contracted.” The U.S. Department of Justice released in December 2016 documents revealing that Odebrecht paid about $788 million in bribes in a dozen Latin American countries, including Panama, Peru, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, Brazil or Venezuela.Following the disclosure, several countries vetoed the firm in public tenders and others reached court settlements with it, including the payment of million-dollar fines and the delation of local officials to whom they paid bribes. In December 2017, Panamanian justice validated the agreement reached between the Public Prosecutor’s Office and Odebrecht, which includes the payment of a fine of 220 million and the case file against the company and its former directors in Panamá.La multinational just delivered the second metro line of the Panamanian capital and is building a branch from suburban to airport and renovating the Caribbean city of Colón, among other projects. 



Original source in Spanish