Petrobras Tries to Halt Investor Suits as Bribery Probe Widens

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Petroleo Brasileiro SA is heading into a Manhattan courtroom Thursday to ask a judge to throw out investor lawsuits triggered by the multibillion-dollar bribery scandal that’s rocking Brazil’s economy and its political elite.

Less than a week after police detained the chief executives of Brazil’s two biggest builders in connection with the kickback probe, the state-owned energy giant is asking that the investor cases be dismissed, saying it was swindled by renegade employees who traded construction contracts for payoffs.