Swiss authorities maintain blockade of $123 million from Lava Jato

The Attorney General of Switzerland informed, this Friday (16), that it maintains the blockade of 110 million francs (about US$ 123 million) linked to the Lava Jato scandal, the biggest anti-corruption operation in the history of Brazil.

Another 450 million francs (about US$504 million) were handed over to the Brazilian authorities with the consent of the people involved, Public Ministry sources told the Swiss news agency “AWP”.

The agency added that around 20 criminal cases are still ongoing in Switzerland in connection with the scandal, and that four of them involve Swiss banks.

Initiated in 2014, Operation Lava Jato uncovered a network of Petrobras kickbacks to political leaders in exchange for concessions and contracts. The set of actions triggered by the task force, which arrested politicians and contractor executives, among others, recovered more than R$ 4 billion in 5 years. It has been the target of dismantling since 2019 on several fronts, which include PGR and STF.