[caption id="attachment_20103" align="alignnone" width="620"]

Petrobras logo on its headquarters building in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Photo: Donatas Dabravolskas/Shutterstock.com[/caption] PricewaterhouseCooper’s Brazilian arm has agreed Friday to a $50 million settlement for what plaintiffs in a class action suit say were its wrongful misrepresentations to investors as the auditor of the energy giant Petrobras. Pomerantz LLP announced the settlement as the latest win for the firm and its clients in its litigation against Petrobras. “We are very pleased with the $50 million settlement achieved with PwC Brazil. With allegations of such an extended and pervasive fraud at Petrobras, it is particularly important to look at the role of auditors and other gatekeepers to ensure that a blind eye is not turned to corporate malfeasance,” Jeremy Lieberman, co-managing partner of Pomerantz, said in a statement. “The settlement announced today ensures accountability for those gatekeepers whose duty it is to protect the interests of shareholders, not their corporate clients.” Plaintiffs brought the suit against the Brazilian company in the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York nearly three years ago, alleging the company concealed a sprawling, decadeslong kickback scheme. The underlying allegations have rocked Brazil, with corrupt schemes involving Petrobras going as high as the country’s office of the president. Petrobras was hit with a host of securities claims under the Securities Exchange Act of 1932 and 1933. Petrobras’ alleged fraudulent scheme involved billions of dollars in kickbacks, tens of billions of dollars in overstated assets, as well as significant losses to company investors. In early January, Pomerantz announced it had settled with the energy company for $2.95 billion, the largest ever in a class action involving a foreign issuer. PwC Brazil stood accused by plaintiffs, under §11 claims, of knowingly making misrepresentations to investors. According to court documents filed late Thursday, the deal with PwC Brazil was initially reached in August 2016. In a statement, PwC Brazil noted that the settlement is still subject to approval by the court, but, if approved, it will conclude all claims in the United States class action against PwC. "PwC has denied any wrongdoing or liability in the settlement," the company said. "We were keen to put this protracted legal matter behind us, and a settlement was the best way to achieve this."