Gates Foundation sues Petrobras and Auditor for Fraud

The trust that manages the $41 Billion Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation filed a lawsuit last Thursday that alleged the widespread corruption at the oil company and which was largely ignored by the auditor. This resulted to the charitable organization's loss of tens of millions of dollars.

But the famous foundation is not the only group suing the troubled oil company. According to The Wall Street Journal the Gates foundation joins a long list of plaintiffs that are seeking to recover the money they lost since the scandal broke out. Only this time, the lawsuit from a popular and big entity such as this could thoroughly damage Petrobras further while it continues to struggle in gaining the trust and confidence of its investors and paying ballooning debts, all the while suffering from the global cut down on oil prices.

According to CNN Money, Petrobras' stock value at the NYSE fell to $1.70 from $8 a year ago. In a written complaint by Kenneth Warner, the lead attorney for the Gates Foundation, "This case arises from a pervasive bribery and money laundering scheme carried out by Petrobras and willfully ignored by PwC."

According to BBC, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff is also affected by the scandal as it's causing him great difficulties. However, he is not among those who are under investigation. He has also denied all knowledge of the scheme.

The scandal has revealed that over $2bn (£1.32bn) has been spent on bribes and over a course of a decade. These bribes were mainly paid to Petrobras executives from construction and engineering companies while some were given to political parties, which includes the governing Workers' Party.

Just last Monday, Workers' Party former treasurer was sentenced to 15 years in prison after it was proven that he was one of those who received bribes from the contractors of Petrobras. It was also proven that he distributed these bribes to the existing members of the ruling party.

Other than the oil company, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is also suing Petrobras's auditors which according to the Gates' legal party played a key role in attesting to Petrobras financial statements.