Did Your Broker Recommend Odebrecht Oil & Gas?

Soreide Law Group is currently investigating clients’ claims which involve the sale of the stock in the privately owned Brazilian energy company Odebrecht Óleo e Gás S.A. (Odebrecht Oil & Gas), which is a subsidiary of the Brazilian construction and chemical company, Odebrecht Organization. Odebrecht is one of the largest conglomerates in Latin America, owning several subsidiaries.
It was reported that in 2013, Odebrecht Oil & Gas established a Cayman Islands subsidiary called Odebrecht Offshore Drilling Finance Ltd. The purpose of this subsidiary was to issue $1.8 billion worth of senior unsecured notes.  In 2014, oil and gas started to plummet with the decline of the oil prices.  In 2015, the price of Odebrecht Oil & Gas bonds fell drastically after the report came out that the Brazilian Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) terminated a contract for an offshore drilling rig. Odebrecht was dependent on Petrobras because they supplied offshore drill rigs to Petrobas.  Once Petrobras canceled Odebrecht’s contract, the price of their bonds dropped dramatically.
Making matters worse, in March, 2016, the CEO of Odebrecht, Marcelo Bahia Odebrecht, was caught up in the Petrobras corruption scandal and sentenced to 19 years in prison for money laundering and corruption.  Just days later, Odebrecht Oil & Gas defaulted on their $9.6 million interest payment due on their 7% unsecured notes.
Recently, one of the largest corruption scandals in Brazil was with Petroleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras), which then connected Odebrecht in the corruption.  A Brazilian court seized $655 million in assets from Odebrecht due to their part in the Petrobras corruption. Over 100 people have been sentenced with corruption charges due to racketeering, kick backs and money laundering.
Several dozens of oil and gas companies have filed for bankruptcy since 2015 due to the plummeting prices of crude oil.  Soreide Law Group is hearing from a growing list of investors whose brokers recommended they invest in a high-concentration of these risky oil and gas stocks for their conservative portfolios. As energy companies file for Chapter 11, it’s the investors who are left empty handed at the end of a very long creditor’s line.
If you’ve experienced devastating losses due to your broker’s recommendations and over-concentration Odebrecht Oil & Gas or any other energy-related stock, call Soreide Law Group for a free consultation with a lawyer regarding the possibility of recovering your losses at:  888-760-6552. Soreide Law Group represents clients nationwide before FINRA and we operate on a contingency basis.