Jailed Odebrecht boss resigns

Marcelo Odebrecht has formally stepped down as CEO of Brazilian construction giant Odebrecht, after six months in jail on corruption charges.

Mr Odebrecht, 47, who has headed the company since 2008, was arrested in June this year, along with a number of his Odebrecht colleagues, and jailed in connection with a fraud that cost Brazilian oil company Petrobras around US$ 2 billion.

A statement from Odebrecht confirmed that Mr Odebrecht had resigned his position with the company, while maintaining his innocence on all charges.

It said, "Odebrecht believes that Marcelo's unjust and unnecessary detention will be revoked and is confident that, at the end of the legal proceedings, his innocence will be formally recognized."

Mr Odebrecht’s successor has been announced as Newton de Souza, formerly the company’s head of Fiduciary Affairs and Governance.

The Odebrecht statement also confirmed that Mr Odebrecht had resigned as chairman of petrochemical producer Braskem SA , Odebrecht Oleo e Gas, Odebrecht Realizações Imobiliarias and Odebrecht Ambiental.