Offers International Investors Easy Access
to Participation
Stichting Petrobras Compensation Foundation, a Netherlands-based
claim foundation (the “Foundation”); International Securities
Associations and Foundations Management Company for Damaged
Petrobras Investors (Bovespa) Ltd. (“ISAF Petrobras”); and a
coalition of international law firms, including Lemstra Van der
Korst N.V., Motley Rice, Withers LLP, and Lowey Dannenberg Cohen
& Hart, announce the incorporation of a Dutch foundation and
appointment to the Foundation’s board of Benk Korthals, former
justice secretary and defense secretary of the Netherlands, and
Dick Bouma a retired partner at Pels Rijcken Droogleever Fortuijn
N.V., expert on Dutch style class actions and experienced board
member of claim foundations.
The Foundation has written to Petrobras Brasileiro SA, certain
Petrobras group entities and (formerly) high ranking Petrobras
officers (collectively, “Petrobras et al”) to encourage them to
discuss avenues for a potential settlement relating to alleged
fraud-related losses of its shares and bonds traded outside of the
United States, whether on BOVESPA and various European stock
exchanges directly or via linked exchange market systems, such as
the European-based LATIBEX on Bolsa Madrid.
Should Petrobras et al not respond within the term set in the
Foundation’s letter and/or is not willing to enter into settlement
negotiations, the Foundation is committed to commence litigation
before the district court in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
Any settlement discussions, or the complaint filed in the
absence thereof, will be for the benefit of investors who suffered
losses as a result of the allegedly long-running fraud perpetrated
by Petrobras et al. Petrobras is majority-owned by the Brazilian
government.
The Foundation alleges that when years of complex fraud and
bribery schemes orchestrated by management and officials of
Petrobras were finally revealed to the public in 2014, investors
lost billions of dollars, euros and Brazilian reals, resulting from
significant asset write-downs and precipitous declines in Petrobras
share prices.
Petrobras has significant operations in the Netherlands, and
several Petrobras entities allegedly involved in the bribery
schemes are also headquartered in Rotterdam. European investors
were damaged as a result of Petrobras’ alleged fraud and bribery
activity.
Petrobras shares are listed on the BOVESPA in Sao Paulo and
became subject to compliance with European regulatory standards
when Petrobras made its shares available for trading and clearing
via LATIBEX on Bolsa Madrid and Iberclear, respectively, and
subjected itself to compliance with the Comision Nacional del
Mercado de Valores (“CNMV”), the regulatory body of Spanish
financial markets. The CNMV is a member of and subject to the
regulations of the European Securities and Markets Authority. Some
of the bonds issued by Petrobras Global Finance B.V. are listed and
traded on various European stock exchanges and are cleared and
settled through European clearing corporations like Clearstream,
Luxembourg and/or Euroclear.
Petrobras specifically desired access to investors in European
and other international capital markets and promoted itself to
them. To increase investors’ confidence, it declared its expected
compliance with a well-developed European market regulation system
and its willingness to be governed by it.
Whether the Petrobras shares are trading in Brazil or Europe,
the security identifiers for both the common and preferred shares
are in fact the same in each jurisdiction. Shares can be
transferred back and forth for custody between Brazil and Europe as
a result of the CNMV regulatory framework and the arrangement via
Iberclear in Spain.
Efforts are underway to recover investor losses related to the
revelations of allegations of rampant corruption, money laundering,
bribery and violations of securities laws in multiple
jurisdictions. The first investor lawsuit was filed as a class
action in the United States on behalf of investors who purchased
American Depository Shares on the New York Stock Exchange, but is
limited to only cover losses in those ADS shares and certain US
dollar denominated bonds. Importantly, this US class action does
not cover investor losses that stem from the largest class of
shares, which traded on the BOVESPA or LATIBEX, and it will not
cover losses on certain other bonds, including Euro denominated
bonds.
Goals of the Legal Action & How to Recover Losses
The Foundation provides a vehicle to litigate on behalf of
Petrobras investors and/or to establish a binding settlement that,
together with the US class action, provides for a truly global
settlement. Additional goals of the collective litigation include
increasing the level of influence of independent directors and
safeguarding the interest of all stakeholders through improvement
in compliance standards and control measures, to a level normally
expected by international institutional investors. It is important
that investors (a) who purchased common and preferred shares of
Petrobras and/or bonds issued by Petrobras Global Finance B.V. or
Petrobras International Finance Company S.A. anytime before July
28, 2015 and (b) suffered and/or are in danger of suffering
(further) damages as a consequence of the alleged fraud, contact
ISAF Petrobras so that it can determine eligibility to pursue
claims in the Dutch court system. Eligible damaged investors can
join the Foundation with no upfront cost or risk.
About the Shareholder Foundation
Foundation Organizers. Stichting Petrobras Compensation
Foundation, a Netherlands-based foundation that acts on behalf of
damaged Petrobras investors, has appointed ISAF Petrobras to
interact with investors, law firms, service providers, and media
and to undertake all administrative tasks, including the collection
of client trading data, loss calculations, loss certification, and
all aspects of documentation handling. In addition, ISAF Petrobras
will finance all litigation costs, including legal fees, experts’
fees, processing, data collection, administration, and claims
administration, including potential payout administration. Apart
from this Dutch foundation, an affiliate of ISAF Petrobras –
International Securities Associations & Foundations Management
Company for Damaged Petrobras Investors (Bolsa Madrid) Ltd. – is
fully funding all efforts by the Asociacion de Afectados de
Petrobras, a Madrid-based shareholder association, to pursue
restitution for damaged investors.
Law Firms. Lemstra Van der Korst N.V., a leading Dutch
litigation and class action law firm, is cooperating with
securities litigation firms Withers LLP, Motley Rice and Lowey
Dannenberg Cohen & Hart.
Withers LLP is a leading international litigation and
arbitration law firm. Motley Rice is one of the largest plaintiffs’
litigation firms in the United States, with a tradition of
representing those whose rights have been violated. Lowey
Dannenberg Cohen & Hart focuses its practice on complex
litigation, including securities and commodities litigation,
antitrust litigation and healthcare litigation.
Claims Analysis and Processing. Battea Class Action Services,
LLC, an international leader in the class action securities claims
filing space, has been retained to collect client data and process
and validate investor loss calculations.
Damaged investors are offered a “success only” contingency fee
cost structure. By accepting the contingency fees, the damaged
investors are offered a no-risk and upfront cost-free participation
(“no cure - no pay”).
For more information, please visit
www.isafpetrobras.com
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Investor Access InformationISAF, London, UK+44 203 769
7223orISAF, Rio De Janeiro, BR+55 212 018 1197orISAF, Rotterdam,
NL+31 102 680 138orISAF, Madrid, ES+34 910 602 178orEmail:
Info@isafpetrobras.comorMedia Access InformationISAF,
Stamford, CT, USAPeter Hansen, +1 203 252 3378Email:
media@isafpetrobras.com