Brazilian construction tycoon Marcelo Odebrecht was sentenced Tuesday to 19 years in prison for corruption and money laundering in the giant Petrobras embezzlement scandal shaking Latin America's biggest country.

Odebrecht, already been behind bars nearly nine months, was CEO until December of the global construction company Odebrecht, which has been unmasked as one of the main players in a bribes-and-embezzlement scheme that cost state oil company Petrobras at least $2 billion.