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For the past month, crude oil has been washing up on beaches all over Brazil's northeastern shores. Authorities are stumped, but a shipwreck has been ruled out. Popular beaches, resorts and wildlife are under threat.
Brazil's new finance minister wants to privatize key state enterprises to tackle the country's huge public debt problem. But the prospect of the state-owned oil company Petrobras ending up in the hands of private investors is a step too far for many.
The large Brazilian construction company Odebrecht bribed politicians around the world for years in order to win government contracts. It's one of history's largest corruption scandals - and it's going to cost the company a lot of money. On Wednesday, Oderbrecht pleaded guilty and received a financial penalty of $3.5 million.
Corruption happens in every country around the world, harming economies and development. World in Progress explores the OECD anti-corruption efforts, looks at Brazil's biggest corruption scandal involving the oil company Petrobras and finds out about ways of changing mentalities about bribery in Italy.
In the biggest case of corruption in Brazil, executives from some of the largest construction companies have allegedly conspired with political parties to rob the state-owned oil company Petrobras, of billions of dollars. The case has triggered significant side-effects in the world's seventh largest economy, forcing Petrobras to its knees. Thousands of workers have lost their jobs.
The state-owned oil company in Brazil was supposed to help propel the South American country's economy into the top flight. Now investigators are trying to determine how far up the the political foodchain a gigantic kickback scheme went. Meanwhile thousands of ordinary Brazilians enticed to dream of a better life have been left stranded.
