Financial Regulation International
Odebrecht in Peru: why the latest criminal charges matter for every arbitration user
Neil Newing, Duncan Grieve and Pietro Grassi
The arrest and prosecution of arbitrators in Peru, for their alleged involvement in corrupt activities, has sent shockwaves
through the international arbitration community. Odebrecht, a Brazilian construction conglomerate notorious for running one
of the largest cross-border bribery schemes in modern history, sits at the centre of numerous corruption scandals across Latin
America.
1 On 7 August 2025, Peruvian prosecutors brought charges against a group of arbitrators, alleging that they had accepted covert
payments in order to deliver decisions in favour of Odebrecht. Five arbitrators were publicly named, with prosecutors seeking
prison terms ranging from nine to 25 years.
2