Mexico bans Odebrecht from federal contracts for 3 years

MEXICO CITY – Mexico’s comptroller has banned federal agencies from contracting with Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht and its Mexican subsidiary for three years.

In a statement Friday, the comptroller’s office said the subsidiary was sanctioned for presenting false information in modifying a contract. Odebrecht was sanctioned for excessive charges to Pemex’s refining arm.

The company has admitted to paying $800 million in bribes throughout the region.

In a 2016 agreement that Odebrecht and Braskem, a petrochemical subsidiary, reached with justice officials in three countries, Odebrecht said it paid $10.5 million in bribes to officials at Mexico’s state-run oil company, Pemex. No one has been prosecuted in Mexico for those payments.

About a dozen other Latin American countries have used evidence from Brazilian prosecutors to pursue their own officials. Mexico and Venezuela are exceptions.