Americas News
US: Two Fuel Oil Traders Indicted on Corruption Charges
Two oil traders have been indicted in the United States following an investigation into corrupt practices linked to Brazilian state entity Petrobras' crude and oil products activities.
The two men, Glenn Oztemel and Eduardo Innecco, are alleged to have paid bribes to Brazilian officials to help two Connecticut trading companies secure contracts and learn confidential details about Petrobras' fuel oil business, according to Reuters.
Both defendants were charged in New Haven, Connecticut federal court with bribery, money laundering and conspiracy, the report said. Oztemel is out on bail and his lawyer issued a statement from his client denying the allegations. Innecco is still at large.
Before his retirement in 2020, Oztemel worked for Freepoint as fuel oil book head for US operations; Innecco performed consulting work there.
A former Petrobras fuel trader in Houston, Rodrigo Berkowitz, is also cited in the seven-count indictment. Berkowitz featured in the long-running Carwash investigation into corrupt practices linked to Petrobras.
The Carwash investigation pulled some high profile trading names into its orbit. Vitol paid out over $100 million in 2020 to resolve a case related to the investigation. In the same year, two Trafigura executives were named as part of a Brazilian civil law suit.
