The former chief executive officer of Braskem SA, Brazil’s largest petrochemicals company, admitted he took part in a sweeping bribery plot the U.S. said also involved Braskem’s parent company, Odebrecht SA.
Jose Carlos Grubisich, 64, pleaded guilty on Thursday to two counts of conspiracy to violate U.S. anti-bribery laws, acknowledging that he approved a $4.3 million payoff to an official of the state-owned energy company Petroleo Brasileiro SA for rights to build and operate a plant. Even under the deal he struck with prosecutors, Grubisich faces as long as 10 years in prison. His plea is the latest chapter in a sprawling corruption scandal centered on Petrobras.
