Brazil prosecutor seeks probe into potential government interference in Petrobras

Brazil's federal prosecutor's office asked audit court TCU to investigate alleged interference by the government in oil company Petrobras and its pricing policy, the agency said on Monday.

Brazil's federal prosecutor's office asked audit court TCU to investigate alleged interference by the government in oil company Petrobras and its pricing policy, the agency said on Monday. A document released by the prosecutor's office listed statements by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro criticizing the company's pricing policy and demanding changes.

The complaint, which was distributed to TCU Judge Augusto Nardes, comes after questions from the Bolsonaro about Petrobras's fuel price increase last week which raised the cost of diesel by about 25% and gasoline by almost 19%. A first analysis of the complaint will be made by the audit court's technical team and then Nardes must decide whether to take the complaint further.