if there was a top-ten list of the world's greatest corruption scandals, the problems of Petrobras ( Petrleo Brasileiro) in Brazil surely would make the list. The majority state-owned petroleum conglomerate was a party to a multibillion-dollar scandal in which company executives received bribes and kickbacks from contractors in exchange for lucrative construction and drilling contracts. The contractors paid Petrobras executives upward of 5 percent of the contract amount, which was funneled back into slush funds. The slush funds, in turn, paid for the election campaigns of certain members of the ruling political party, Partido dos Trabalhadores, or the Workers Party, as well as for luxury items like race cars, jewelry, Rolex watches, yachts, wine, and art.30 The original investigation into these practices was known as Operation Car Wash ( Lava Jato) and began in 2014 at a gas station and car wash in Braslia, where money was being laundered. It has since expanded to include scrutiny of senators, government officials, and the former president of the republic, Luiz Incio Lula da Silva. The probe also contributed to the impeachment and removal of Lula's successor, Dilma Rousseff. Lula and Rousseff are members of the Workers Party. The case is complex, revealing Chinese suppliers, Swiss bank accounts where money was hidden from Brazilian authorities, and wire transfers that went through New York City and caught the eye of the US Department of Justice. In early 2017, the Brazilian Supreme Court justice in charge of the investigation and prosecution was mysteriously killed in a plane crash. It is hard to imagine a more tragic example of systemic breakdown and individual vice. The loss of trust in government and the economy still affects ordinary Brazilians. Meanwhile, the investigation continues.

Is this Brazilian company scandal unique to that culture?