Keppel Corp and Sembcorp Marine have denied wrongdoing after Pedro Barusco, a former director of Brazilian drilling unit operator Sete Brasil and former engineering manager at Petrobras, linked affiliates of the shipbuilders to a scam to pay bribes in order to garner contracts with Petrobras, the government-controlled oil company.

Local media report that Barusco also implicated Brazilian shipyards Estaleiro Atlantico Sul (EAS), Estaleiro Enseada do Paraguacu and Estaleiro Rio Grande, all of which have major Japanese shipyard groups as significant shareholders.

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