SAO PAULO: Brazil builder OAS, which prosecutors accuse of involvement in the massive corruption scandal at state oil firm Petrobras, filed for bankruptcy protection for nine of its units Tuesday.
OAS is accused of being part of a group of companies that paid bribes to politicians and Petrobras executives in exchange for contracts in the oil company.
"Since the beginning of the investigations at Petrobras, the financial institutions have systematically restricted the access of enterprises to the resources necessary for the maintenance of projects," OAS Investments president Fabio Yonamine said in a statement.
"With almost 40 years in operation, the OAS has been compelled to take measures that will enable it to continue to operate in a healthy process of renegotiation of debts, while preserving thousands of direct and indirect jobs."
The group said it decided the move was the "best path (for the nine units) to renegotiate their debts with creditors and suppliers."
The company now has 60 to renegotiate its debt but it has already announced it will sell part of its assets.
Those assets include the group's concessions at Sao Paulo's Guarulhos airport and in two football stadiums used in the 2014 World Cup: Arena das Dunas and Arena Fonte Nova.
The company has a total debt of 9.2 billion reais ($2.8 billion), of which about 8.0 billion reais are being restructured, according to Folha de Sao Paulo newspaper.
The scandal, which has rocked the government, has wiped tens of billions of dollars off Petrobras' market value and forced it to delay publishing externally audited accounts from last year.
Due to the alleged corruption, Petrobras has been banned from making new contracts with OAS and 22 other large companies.
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