The head of Brazilian conglomerate Odebrecht SA wrote a note to lawyers with the phrase “destroy rigs e- mail” while he was in jail, police said Wednesday, drawing more attention to the most senior executive detained in a wide- ranging graft investigation.
Marcelo Odebrecht, 46, wrote the message that was handed to lawyers and photocopied at the jail as part of a routine search, according to a police statement.
The note also mentions “Andre Esteves,” which is the name of the billionaire banker who is CEO of Grupo BTG Pactual SA. A spokesman for BTG declined to comment. BTG shares fell 3.7 percent today to 29.85 reais.
Odebrecht was outside his cell to speak with attorneys and must have been “naive” to think that the message wasn’t going to be monitored, as this is standard procedure in prisons, Otavio Melim, a prison official, said in testimony attached to court filings. Melim also said Odebrecht has a habit of writing notes and always carries paper.
Odebrecht was detained June 19 as part of a federal operation involving 220 police officers in four states. The action follows months of digging by investigators into an alleged scheme involving insiders at state-run Petroleo Brasileiro SA and contractors to rake off vast sums from inflated construction and service contracts with the oil producer.
The destruction referred to in the note concerned a defense strategy, not the suppression of evidence, Odebrecht’s lawyer, Dora Cavalcanti, said by telephone. The e-mail is part of police records and is cannot be eliminated, she said.
The points below the destruction reference were also part of that strategy to refute evidence presented by prosecutors, Calvanti said. Those points included the mention of “Andre Esteves” as well as a reference to Sete Brasil, the Petrobras oil rig supplier in which BTG has a stake. A spokesperson for Sete declined to comment.
Intentionally Distorted
The note was meant to dispute the relevance of the original e-mail, which is being intentionally distorted by police, Cavalcanti said. She said she met with police on June 23 to explain that the e-mail should never have been used as evidence.
“This is a very serious incident,” Cavalcanti said. “It is a mistake on top of a mistake.”
When police raided Odebrecht’s offices in November they found an e-mail from Braskem SA executive Roberto Ramos, who has also held management positions in several Odebrecht divisions. That e-mail, which was sent to executives including Marcelo Odebrecht, mentioned establishing “over pricing” on oil rig contracts. Moro cited the e-mail as evidence when he ordered Marcelo Odebrecht’s preventive detention last week.
Odebrecht said in a statement Tuesday that the language in the e-mail referred to “cost plus fee” and doesn’t indicate any illegal activity. Braskem, a petrochemicals company, said the e-mail is completely unrelated to its business activities in a June 19 statement.