Brazil Says no 'grand Bargain' With Builders in Petrobras Scandal

President Dilma Rousseff's government denied on Wednesday that it is looking to strike a "grand bargain" with Brazilian construction and engineering firms implicated in the kickback scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras. With Brazil facing recession, the government is keen to limit economic fallout by reaching leniency deals with some of the 24 companies under investigation that have halted projects and laid off workers after Petrobras stopped paying them. Brazil's solicitor general Luís Inácio Adams said, "There is no such big agreement." To reach a settlement with the CGU, the companies must admit wrongdoing, provide information to the ongoing investigations, repay the damage and establish programs for compliance with Brazil's new anti-corruption law.