Brazil's Petrobras expected to name new CEO; Oil firm facing crisis amid corruption scandal

The board of directors for Brazilian oil firm Petrobras is meeting Friday and is expected to name a new chief executive officer later in the day.

Brazil's state oil company is in crisis amid an expanding corruption investigation into a long-running kickback scheme on its contracts.

Several top executives from Brazil's biggest construction and engineering firms already are jailed and charged, along with a handful of former Petrobras executives.

It was on Wednesday that CEO Maria das Gracas Foster and five other top Petrobras executives resigned. None are facing charges in the corruption scandal — but authorities say the investigation is still in its beginnings stage.

Prosecutors say the kickback scheme involved at least $800 million in bribes and other illegal funds in exchange for inflated Petrobras contracts.