RIO DE JANEIRO, Aug. 7 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Odebrecht holding group is changing the names and logos of all its companies this month, as part of a strategy to distance itself from the Petrobras corruption campaign, which revealed Odebrecht paid millions in bribes across the Americas.
According to the Folha de Sao Paulo daily on Monday, while the name of the holding group will not change, the name Odebrecht will be removed from all businesses such as "Odebrecht Oil and Gas" and "Odebrecht Real Estate Developments."
The red color of the Odebrecht brand and its traditional font will also be eliminated.
The first brand to undergo this change will be Braskem, the largest petrochemical company in Latin America. While Braskem will keep its name, it will lose the associated name of Odebrecht. This will also be the case of the Foz and Enseada brands.
Marcelo Lyra, vice-president and responsible of communications for Odebrecht, said the company is undergoing a process to recover its reputation and meeting demands from its clients and the public.
These changes go against a decision taken in 2013 by then president, Marcelo Odebrecht, who decided to unify the Odebrecht brand by using the name for all its businesses.
Marcelo Odebrecht, the former president of the company, was jailed for 19 years in 2016 for corruption.
However, this change is in line with a statement by the company last December, in which it accepted the blame for its crimes, and recognized having taken part in "improper practices."
Odebrecht is accused of paying bribes to public officials in exchange for government contracts in at least 13 Latin American and African countries.
