Brazil Oil Spill: Petrobras Charged With Crimes At Duque De Caxias Refinery

Oil Company Charged For Brazil Spill
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JAVIER TOVAR View of the the Bay of Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 3, 2012. Alexandre Anderson de Souza, 41, president of the fishermen association (Ahomar) who denounced the company risponsible for the pollution of the Bay of Guanabara, received death threats and has to be escorted by police after two fellow fishermen were murdered last week. AFP PHOTO / Christophe Simon (Photo credit should read CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/GettyImages)
TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JAVIER TOVAR View of the the Bay of Guanabara, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on July 3, 2012. Alexandre Anderson de Souza, 41, president of the fishermen association (Ahomar) who denounced the company risponsible for the pollution of the Bay of Guanabara, received death threats and has to be escorted by police after two fellow fishermen were murdered last week. AFP PHOTO / Christophe Simon (Photo credit should read CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/GettyImages)

* No monetary value mentioned for fines, compensation

* Charges come amid high-profile case vs Chevron, Transocean

RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept 24 (Reuters) - A prosecutor from Brazil's Public Ministry has charged state-run oil company Petrobras with environmental crimes for a spill at its Duque de Caxias refinery that allegedly contaminated the mangroves and estuary of Guanabara Bay off Rio de Janeiro.

Public Prosecutor Renato Machado also charged two employees of Petrobras in a statement released on Monday.

The spill occurred in June 2011.

"The Reduc (refinery) acted with complete negligence. They knew since 2007 at least that the treatment stations were obsolete and not functioning adequately and they did nothing," Machado said.

The prosecutor did not mention a fine or compensation value sought.

Local courts are considering charges against U.S. oil company Chevron and driller Transocean that could carry fines of up to $20 billion and possible jail time for foreign executives in relation to a spill last November off the coast of Brazil.

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