Petrobras held, on Monday (December 09, 2019), the opening of the 6th "Compliance in Petrobras", at the company's headquarters in Rio de Janeiro. The meeting, held on the International Anti-Corruption Day, was an opportunity to present Petrobras' advances and challenges in combating fraud and corruption, as well as to exchange experiences with professionals specializing in compliance. The event was attended by Petrobras President Roberto Castello Branco, Professor and former Federal Supreme Court Minister Carlos Ayres Britto, and Compliance Specialist Letícia Sugai, as well as the company's advisors, directors and executives.

Castello Branco, who stressed the importance of fighting corruption for the sake of the country’s economy, opened the event: “Corruption creates distortions in resource allocations and concentrates a society's income in a small privileged group. Economically, it can be said to be a heinous crime. It deprives the State of resources that could be used for essential activities. Many people in hospitals in Brazil die due to lack of resources taken away because of corruption”. The president of Petrobras reaffirmed that the company was the victim of criminal activities reported by the Operation Car Wash. The executive stressed that over the last years, Petrobras has undergone a transformation in its control tools and its integrity system is becoming a model in the corporate environment. Castello Branco also mentioned that approximately 2,000 employees are receiving letters from Petrobras with feedback on the verification processes in which they have participated since 2015. These people were not necessarily investigated, but may have been heard as collaborators or witnesses, for example. To date they have not yet received a return on the investigations. In addition to clarifying, this initiative aims to increase transparency of these processes.

During his participation, Professor Carlos Ayres Britto recalled that Petrobras, as a mixed economy company, is subject to the governance environment of private companies, but must also obey the principles of public administration such as legality, impersonality, morality, publicity and efficiency: “Upon learning of the compliance measures adopted by Petrobras, we realize that the company is on the right track. The event also featured a presentation by the Compliance Specialist Leticia Sugai, who recalled the need for the business sector to engage in the fight against corruption in Brazil and the world, and stressed the importance of Compliance in this process.

Petrobras has already imposed BRL 6.4 million in fines based on Anti-Corruption Law

Marcelo Zenkner, Petrobras' Governance and Compliance Officer, presented the area's advances and key figures in 2019. During the year, for example, Petrobras conducted the Integrity Due diligence (IDD) in 3,000 companies. The IDD evaluates the mechanisms to combat fraud and corruption of companies with which Petrobras does business. Throughout 2019, Petrobras applied BRL 6.4 million in fines against suppliers. An independent committee was created, detached from the company's boards, to judge administrative proceedings against suppliers. The Disciplinary Measures Committee (CMD) is composed of three members, two of them selected from outside the company and one employee of the company, defined in a selective process through a specialized company.

In addition, around 2,000 Integrity Background Check (IBC) were performed, with integrity checks of potential managers and employees working in critical processes. To occupy positions, such as manager or director at Petrobras, the professional has to go through a thorough verification of integrity requirements and technical capacity. Throughout the year, Petrobras also conducted training with more than 45,000 employees in corruption prevention and bullying courses aimed at strengthening the company's culture of integrity. In addition, the company has assigned to 194 people from different areas of the company the role of Compliance actors, which clarify doubts of other employees and advise the area executive on compliance issues, among other functions, contributing to the strengthening of the integrity environment throughout Petrobras.

The director also pointed out that the next step in the Compliance area in Petrobras is to continue consolidating a culture of integrity among its employees and entities that relate to the company: “It is the improvement of a system we already exists, which is very good. All companies have to know that they are dealing with a full and honest partner”. Marcelo also reported that Petrobras intends to launch in 2020 a mobile application with integrity information applicable to the company, relevant legislation, with a quiz and tips on how to act in critical situations. Petrobras is also developing a board game called Integrity in Action, which will be used to work the theme with its employees in a playful and accessible way.