Oil and gas industry officials around the world accused of corruption

(Baonghean.vn) - Around the world, large oil and gas corporations in countries such as China, Brazil, Venezuela... have all been the "battlefields" of many high-ranking officials accused of corruption.

1. Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, 71, is Brazil's first working-class president. According to Brazilian prosecutors, Lula is accused of receiving 3.7 million reais ($1.2 million) in bribes from engineering firm OAS SA, which was used to renovate a beachfront apartment for Lula in exchange for the company's help in winning contracts from the state-owned oil company Petrobras. Prosecutors also accuse Lula of being behind a long-running corruption scheme that was later exposed in an investigation into kickbacks linked to Petrobras.

2. Former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff

Impeached in September 2016 for a series of crimes such as abuse of power, violating budget laws to run for office..., former Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff was also held responsible for the damages she caused when she was chief of staff of the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras. On October 11, 2017, the Brazilian Federal Audit Court (TCU) froze the assets of former President Dilma Rousseff for her alleged role in the 2006 deal when the state-owned oil company Petrobras bought an oil refinery in the city of Pasadena, Texas, USA.

3. Former Chinese leader Zhou Yongkang

Zhou Yongkang, born in 1942, is a retired senior leader of the Chinese Communist Party. Within 10 years, Zhou Yongkang's career had risen rapidly from the oil industry to leading the entire security apparatus, before being brought down in the anti-corruption campaign of Chinese President Xi Jinping. The total assets held by the Zhou family are worth about 90 billion yuan, equivalent to 14.5 billion USD. Documents from the New York Times show that his son, sister-in-law and in-laws hold about 1 billion yuan, equivalent to 160 million USD, most of which came from the Chinese oil industry.

4. Former Minister of Energy and Petroleum of Venezuela

Venezuela is one of the world's largest oil exporters and the "black gold" industry is not immune to "boils". The country has just launched a major anti-corruption sweep with 65 high-ranking officials arrested. Among them is former Energy and Petroleum Minister Eulogio del Pino. Mr. Pino is accused of "deliberately changing oil production figures". The arrests are part of a campaign to "dismantle the group that is destroying Venezuela's oil industry". In a video posted on Twitter before his arrest, del Pino called the accusations against him "an unjustified attack".

5. Former President of Venezuelan Oil Corporation Nelson Martinez

Former Venezuelan Oil Corporation President Nelson Martinez has been accused of fraud at Citgo, the US subsidiary of Venezuelan Oil Corporation. Mr. Martínez was arrested for allegedly signing a contract to restructure Citgo's debt without notifying the government. Previously, Venezuelan authorities also arrested the President and five Vice Presidents of Citgo, because in the said contract, all of the assets of this branch were used as collateral. Mr. Saab also said that senior Citgo officials said that Mr. Martínez was the one who negotiated the contract and that this action "seriously damaged the national assets."

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