The jail sentence was reduced to ten years in prison in December 2016 for paying a fine, admitting guilt and providing evidence to authorities.

[4] After received a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), Marcelo joined Odebrecht in 1992, and was appointed CEO in 2008.

[6] Otávio Azevedo, CEO of Andrade Gutierrez, Brazil's second largest construction firm, was also arrested, along with a total of ten others, including senior Odebrecht executives.

[8][9] On 5 November 2017, Marcelo Odebrecht, his father and his brother were named in the Paradise Papers, a set of confidential electronic documents relating to offshore investment, and was revealed that his company used at least one offshore company as a vehicle for the payment of bribes in the Operation Car Wash.[10] In December 2017 he was released from jail on house arrest.

This was part of a leniency deal in which he is paying a $2 billion fine, admitting guilt and providing evidence to authorities.