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| Brazilian police detain former president Lula in corruption inquiry | Brazilian police detain former president Lula in corruption inquiry |
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| Brazilian police are questioning former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after raiding his home and several associated buildings in a search for evidence as part of an ongoing corruption investigation. | Brazilian police are questioning former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva after raiding his home and several associated buildings in a search for evidence as part of an ongoing corruption investigation. |
| The detention of the influential Workers’ party politician – who is best known by his nickname Lula – marks a dramatic new phase of the Lava Jato (“carwash”) inquiry into bribery and kickback allegations involving leading Brazilian companies and dozens of congressmen. | The detention of the influential Workers’ party politician – who is best known by his nickname Lula – marks a dramatic new phase of the Lava Jato (“carwash”) inquiry into bribery and kickback allegations involving leading Brazilian companies and dozens of congressmen. |
| The huge investigation – easily the biggest in the country’s history – initially focused on corruption and money laundering at the oil company Petrobras but has since widened to include construction and brokerage firms. | The huge investigation – easily the biggest in the country’s history – initially focused on corruption and money laundering at the oil company Petrobras but has since widened to include construction and brokerage firms. |
| It is likely to add to the pressure on the government of Dilma Rousseff, who is already struggling with an impeachment challenge, economic recession and the Zika epidemic. | It is likely to add to the pressure on the government of Dilma Rousseff, who is already struggling with an impeachment challenge, economic recession and the Zika epidemic. |
| Federal police launched the action against Lula early on Friday morning with raids on his apartment in São Bernardo do Campo, the home of his son Fábio Luís, the Lula Institute, and addresses in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. | Federal police launched the action against Lula early on Friday morning with raids on his apartment in São Bernardo do Campo, the home of his son Fábio Luís, the Lula Institute, and addresses in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro. |
| Investigators accused Da Silva – and leaders of other parties – of having election campaigns financed by kick-backs and bribes channelled from inflated Petrobras contracts. | Investigators accused Da Silva – and leaders of other parties – of having election campaigns financed by kick-backs and bribes channelled from inflated Petrobras contracts. |
| “This grand scheme was coordinated from the summit by leaders of political parties that formed the base of the federal government, especially the Workers Party, the Progressive Party and the Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement. Former President and party leader Lula was ultimately responsible for the directors of Petrobras and was one of the main beneficiaries of the offences,” said a statement from the federal prosecutors office. | “This grand scheme was coordinated from the summit by leaders of political parties that formed the base of the federal government, especially the Workers Party, the Progressive Party and the Party of the Brazilian Democratic Movement. Former President and party leader Lula was ultimately responsible for the directors of Petrobras and was one of the main beneficiaries of the offences,” said a statement from the federal prosecutors office. |
| The statement stressed that Da Silva was only under suspicion and that no final judgment had been made. But investigators vowed not to be cowed by high office. | The statement stressed that Da Silva was only under suspicion and that no final judgment had been made. But investigators vowed not to be cowed by high office. |
| “Within a republic, even illustrious and powerful people must be subject to judicial scrutiny when they are suspected of criminal activity, which is based, in this case, on dozens of testimonies and extensive documentary evidence. The former President deserves respect, because of the dignity of the office he held, but this does not mean he is immune to an investigation,” the police statement said. | “Within a republic, even illustrious and powerful people must be subject to judicial scrutiny when they are suspected of criminal activity, which is based, in this case, on dozens of testimonies and extensive documentary evidence. The former President deserves respect, because of the dignity of the office he held, but this does not mean he is immune to an investigation,” the police statement said. |
| According to local media, about 200 officers and 30 tax auditors were involved in this phase of the operation, which has been named Aletheia – meaning “truth of disclosure” in Greek. Police reportedly have 33 warrants for search and seizure and 11 warrants for the arrest of individuals wanted for questioning, including Lula, his wife, Marisa, his children Marcos Claudio, Fabio Luis, Sandro Luis, and Marlene Araujo, and the head of the Lula Institute, Paul Okamotto. | According to local media, about 200 officers and 30 tax auditors were involved in this phase of the operation, which has been named Aletheia – meaning “truth of disclosure” in Greek. Police reportedly have 33 warrants for search and seizure and 11 warrants for the arrest of individuals wanted for questioning, including Lula, his wife, Marisa, his children Marcos Claudio, Fabio Luis, Sandro Luis, and Marlene Araujo, and the head of the Lula Institute, Paul Okamotto. |
| The warrants were granted by Judge Sergio Moro in Curitiba, where the Lava Jato investigation is based. | The warrants were granted by Judge Sergio Moro in Curitiba, where the Lava Jato investigation is based. |
| Related: Zika crisis and economic woes bring gloom to Brazil's Olympic buildup | Related: Zika crisis and economic woes bring gloom to Brazil's Olympic buildup |
| The inquiry is said to be based on testimony given in a plea bargain by the Workers’ party senator Delcídio do Amaral, who has allegedly accused the former president of trying to buy the silence of witnesses, including Nestor Cervero, the former Petrobras director. | The inquiry is said to be based on testimony given in a plea bargain by the Workers’ party senator Delcídio do Amaral, who has allegedly accused the former president of trying to buy the silence of witnesses, including Nestor Cervero, the former Petrobras director. |
| Police are also looking into newspaper reports alleging that Lula received favours from construction firms in the form of work done at apartments in Atibaia and Guarujá, São Paulo. | Police are also looking into newspaper reports alleging that Lula received favours from construction firms in the form of work done at apartments in Atibaia and Guarujá, São Paulo. |
| The former president – who has recently indicated that he may stand again in 2018 – has denied the accusations against him, saying they are politically motivated. He has not been charged with a crime. | The former president – who has recently indicated that he may stand again in 2018 – has denied the accusations against him, saying they are politically motivated. He has not been charged with a crime. |
| The Lula Institute described the raids and detentions as an “affront to the country and the rule of law” and accused the Lava Jata prosecutors of an “arbitrary, illegal and unjustifiable” act. It denied all accusations of illegality and concealment of assets. Regarding the properties under scrutiny, it said Da Silva had never stepped foot in the apartment in Guaruja and that his friends owned the place in Atibaia that he visited on occasion. | |
| The former president, it said, had been cooperating with the investigation so the coercive detention was unwarranted. In addition, it accused the judicial authorities involved of a crime in leaking secret bank data to the media. | |
| “The only result of the violence unleashed today by the Task Force is to submit the former president to a public embarrassment. It is not Lula’s credibility, but that of Operation Lava Jato that is compromised when its leaders turn to a political target on the most fragile of pretexts,” the statement read. |