Danish owner Torm says it has no case to answer after being linked to Brazil's huge Car Wash corruption probe that has also involved compatriot AP Moller-Maersk and oil major Petrobras.
The Berlingske daily reported that Torm had paid a commission for a tanker charter to a domestic broker called Wanderley Granda, whom police are investigating over bribery allegations.
A Torm spokesperson told TradeWinds: "We are not being investigated. The commission was paid as normal to Maersk Brazil and Granda Brokerage and that was it."
Torm chartered the 73,000-dwt Torm Signe (built 2005) to Petrobras between 2006 and 2009.
The amount reported as being earned by Granda from Torm was put at DKK 2.3m ($334,000).
Inside information?
Prosecutors have alleged inside information was provided to Maersk by shipbroker Granda.
In December, the house of a former AP Moller-Maersk director was searched in Brazil as part of the ongoing Operation Car Wash probe into alleged corruption at Petrobras.
The Dane, who is not being named, held a senior position with the shipping group in Brazil and is central to the case involving tanker contracts, the country's prosecutor's office said.
Authorities also raided Maersk offices in Brazil.
The ex-director has not been charged.
Maersk said in a statement: "We take the allegations very seriously and fully cooperate with the relevant authorities in their investigation of the case.
"It is important to emphasise that AP Moller-Maersk is fully focused on ensuring that activities in all countries comply with anti-corruption rules."
TradeWinds has reported previously that the Copenhagen-based shipping giant had come under investigation as part of Operation Car Wash in 2015.
"We have found no indication that Maersk has engaged in any improper or illegal activity," Maersk said at the time.
The group was drawn back in in December when authorities started to investigate it and two shipbrokers over allegations of bribery involved in the awarding of contracts by Petrobras.
Federal agents carried out 12 search and seizure warrants in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro to collect evidence.
Prosecutors said in a statement last year that at least $3.4m in bribes were allegedly paid in relation to 11 contracts between Maersk and Petrobras worth BRL 592m ($141.07m).
According to the police, Maersk was one of three companies that signed more than 200 charter contracts between 2002 and 2018.
They were worth more than BRL 6bn ($1.47bn) in total.
