A panel of Brazilian supreme court judges ordered, by majority vote, the release of former Petrobras chief executive Aldemir Bendine on Tuesday, writes Gareth Chetwynd.
Bendine was accused of receiving 3 million reais ($785,000) in bribes distributed by Brazilian contracting giant Odebrecht, and continuing to use his influence even after taking over as boss of the state-controlled company.
He has so far served only 20 months of an 11-year jail sentence issued by Sergio Moro, a federal judge since appointed Brazilian Justice Minister, but the STF panel held that Bendine had the right to remain at liberty until his conviction was confirmed on an appeal of second instance.
