Leading Brazilian construction firm Andrade Gutierrez Engenharia has admitted it was part of a cartel involved in stadia development for the country’s hosting of the 2014 Fifa World Cup.
The Reuters news agency reports that the company made the revelations after signing a leniency agreement with national antitrust regulator Cade to give evidence against five other engineering operators that allegedly colluded in the bidding of contracts to build or renovate venues for the national football team tournament. Odebrecht Investimentos em Infraestrutura Ltda, a unit of Odebrecht SA; Construções e Comércio Camargo Corrêa SA, a unit of Camargo Correa SA; Construtora OAS SA; Construtora Queiroz Galvão SA; and Carioca Christiani Nielsen Engenharia, are said to be the other companies involved.
Cade has so far struck seven leniency agreements with companies that have been blacklisted for involvement in the country’s largest corruption scandal, centered on state-run oil company Petrobras. Firms that sign a deal must admit to guilt and provide evidence of wrongdoing.
The agency has found evidence of rigging on contracts for five stadiums, naming the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Arena Pernambuco near Recife and Estádio Mineirão in Belo Horizonte as three of the venues implicated. However, Cade has opted not to name the other two site, so as not to hamper investigations.
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