Former Petrobras executive charged with taking bribes

Brasilia - Prosecutors on Tuesday accused a former senior Petrobras executive of racketeering, bribery and money laundering through Switzerland and Uruguay in a widening kickback scandal that has engulfed Brazil's state-run oil company.

Nestor Cerveró was head of international operations at Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as the company is known, from 2003 to 2008, when prosecutors say he accepted bribes to help engineering and construction firms win contracts with Brazil's largest company.

The charges against Cerveró follow indictments in December against 39 executives, two of them senior Petrobras executives and most of the rest executives of major Brazilian construction and engineering companies. The charges against Cerveró will require a judge to endorse them before becoming an indictment.