Trump decrees total secrecy for American oil company activities outside the US.
"Due to the new law signed by Trump, from now on no one from the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPF) or the Federal Justice system will be able to obtain any document in the US proving that Brazilian authorities were bribed to help the Americans destroy Petrobras. Was this the quid pro quo demanded by the MPF/Sérgio Moro to help Uncle Sam?", questions journalist Fábio de Oliveira Ribeiro, in an article in the GGN newspaper.
Bribery and secrecy: the comparative advantages of US oil companies.
by Fábio de Oliveira Ribeiro, in GGN newspaper
One of the stupidest things that has happened in recent years was the agreement between the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor's Office/Sérgio Moro and the US. Through this agreement – whose validity is questionable, since it did not follow the normal administrative channels of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice – Brazilian authorities committed to providing sensitive and even classified information from Petrobras to US authorities. No quid pro quo was demanded.
The information provided by Brazilians has caused immense financial damage to Petrobras. The company is facing billions of dollars in lawsuits that would not have been filed without the help of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office and Sérgio Moro. Will the prosecutors and the judge of Lava Jato compensate the company for the losses they caused?
Yesterday President Trump signed a law guaranteeing total secrecy regarding the business and financial activities of American oil companies outside the US. The dangerous relationship between José Serra and Chevron is known, but has not been thoroughly investigated.
Due to the new law signed by Trump, henceforth no one from the Brazilian Federal Prosecutor's Office (MPF) or the Federal Judiciary will be able to obtain any document in the US proving that Brazilian authorities were bribed to help the Americans destroy Petrobras. Was this the quid pro quo demanded by the MPF/Sérgio Moro to help Uncle Sam?
Bribery and secrecy. That's how Petrobras' competitors operate. But the Federal Prosecutor's Office/Sérgio Moro made Petrobras operate differently. What's good for the Americans isn't good for the Brazilians?
In the name of ethics, Brazilian authorities helped American companies. In return, the Americans became more unethical. Curiously, no member of the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office, the Federal Judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the new comparative advantage of Petrobras' competitors. Absolute and obsequious silence in the Brazilian press.