SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Petróleo Brasileiro SA, the state-controlled company at the center of Brazil’s worst corruption scandal, temporarily removed Chief Compliance Officer João Elek Jr so he can defend himself against accusations he was involved in a conflict of interest over a contract.
In a Wednesday securities filing, Petrobras said that according to the government’s ethics committee, Elek’s decision to hire an auditing firm in which his daughter worked represented a conflict of interest.
The decision to remove Elek was made to allow him to appeal the committee’s ruling, the filing said.
Reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal; Editing by Sandra Maler
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