Company: PBR
Filing Date: 2025-04-03
Form Type: 20-F
Source: 0001292814-25-001352
Chunk: 210

Company: PETROBRAS - PETROLEO BRASILEIRO SA
Filing Date: 2025-04-03
Form: 20-F
Item: Item 17
Chunk 210
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 arising from past investigations related to alleged irregularities or corruption, see “Risks - Risk Factors - 1.t) We may face additional proceedings arising from past investigations related to alleged irregularities or corruption” and Note 22 to our audited consolidated financial statements.
 

Annual Report and Form 20-F 2024 |
Investor Claims
 Netherlands: Collective action in the Netherlands
 In 2017, the Stichting Petrobras Compensation Foundation (the “Foundation”) filed an action before the district court in Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, against us and our subsidiaries Petrobras International Braspetro B.V. (PIBBV), Petrobras Global Finance B.V (PGF), our former joint venture Petrobras Oil & Gas B.V. (the “POGBV”) and some of our former officers.
 The Foundation allegedly represents the interests of an unidentified group of investors and alleges that, based on the facts uncovered by the Lava Jato investigation, the defendants acted unlawfully towards investors. Based on the allegations, the Foundation seeks declaratory relief rulings from the Dutch court.
 In 2021, after a number of prior interim judgments in which the Dutch Court accepted jurisdiction over most of the seven claims of the Foundation, the Dutch Court decided that the collective action shall continue and that the arbitration clause of our bylaws does not bar our shareholders from access to the Dutch courts and that the Foundation can represent the interests of these shareholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Dutch Court decided that our investors who have commenced arbitration proceedings, as well as our investors who have commenced proceedings in which an independent public court has ruled by final decision that they are bound by the arbitration clause, are excluded from the scope of the collective action.
 In 2021 and 2022, the parties presented their written submissions regarding the merits of the case, and in 2023, the hearings for the oral arguments took place.
 In July 2023, the Dutch Court issued an intermediary decision on the merits, ordering the production of additional evidence by the parties. In addition, the Dutch Court expressed in advance their decision on the merits of certain allegations, among which include: (i) the allegations made against PIB BV, POGBV and certain former members of the company’s management will be rejected by the Dutch Court, (ii) the Dutch Court declared that Petrobras and PGF acted unlawfully in relation to their investors, although the Court expressed it does not consider itself sufficiently informed about relevant aspects of Brazilian, Argentine and Luxembourger laws to definitively