Connecticut businessman convicted in Petrobras bribery case by Reuters

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) – A Connecticut oil and gas trader was convicted on Thursday of a nearly eight-year scheme to bribe officials at Brazil’s state oil company Petrobras so two Connecticut trading companies could win business, prosecutors said Americans.

Glenn Oztemel, 65, of Westport, Conn., was found guilty by a jury in Bridgeport, Conn. of all seven charges he faced, including money laundering, conspiracy and violating the federal Corrupt Practices Act abroad.

Oztemel and another defendant, Brazilian-Italian oil and gas broker Eduardo Innecco, were accused of bribing officials to help Arcadia Fuels and Freepoint Commodities win contracts and obtain confidential details of Petrobras’ fuel oil business.

Prosecutors said Oztemel paid more than $1 million in bribes, which were split between Petrobras officials in Brazil and Rodrigo Berkowitz, a Houston-based Petrobras fuel trader.

The accused allegedly used coded language such as “breakfast”, “breakfast portions” and “carriage violation” to refer to bribes and bribe amounts.

Prosecutors said the scheme ran from 2010 to 2018. Oztemel worked at both Arcadia and Freepoint before retiring in 2020.

“We are very disappointed in today’s verdict,” Oztemel’s attorney, Nelson Boxer, said in an email. “Glenn has had an unblemished 40-year record in the oil industry and we will continue to fight to clear his good name.”

Innecco is awaiting extradition from France to face US charges. Oztemel’s brother, Gary Oztemel, pleaded guilty to a money laundering charge in June.

Last December, Stamford, Connecticut-based Freepoint entered into a deferred prosecution agreement and agreed to pay more than $98 million to settle US bribery charges.

Brazilian authorities investigated Freepoint employees as part of Operation Car Wash, a seven-year investigation into alleged bribery involving Petrobras.

Berkowitz pleaded guilty in February 2019 in Brooklyn to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He has not yet been sentenced, court records show.