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Brazil court justice won’t lift ban on Silva Cabinet post Brazil court justice won’t lift ban on Silva Cabinet post
(about 3 hours later)
RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice is rejecting a motion that would have let former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva take a Cabinet post. RIO DE JANEIRO — A Brazilian Supreme Court justice on Tuesday rejected a motion to let former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva assume a Cabinet post that would make it harder to prosecute him while police made several arrests in a sprawling corruption scandal that threatens to bring down Silva and dozens of other top politicians.
Rosa Weber on Tuesday denied a request by Silva’s lawyers to overturn a decision last week that blocked Silva from becoming chief of staff to his successor, President Dilma Rousseff. Justice Rosa Weber denied motions by the government to overturn a decision last week by another Supreme Court justice who blocked Silva from becoming chief of staff for his successor, President Dilma Rousseff. Last week’s decision also transferred the probe targeting Silva back to the lower court that had been spearheading it.
Critics say Silva’s nomination was an attempt to give him the special legal status accorded to Cabinet ministers. It takes a Supreme Court decision to authorize investigations against them. A final decision on whether Silva can assume the role is not expected until the full Supreme Court convenes again next week. There are no sessions scheduled this week because of the Easter holiday.
Police recently took Silva in for questioning as part of a sprawling investigation into corruption at Brazil’s Petrobras oil company, though no charges were filed. Meanwhile police were targeting one of the hemisphere’s largest construction companies as part of a colossal investigation centered on an alleged kickback scheme in the state oil giant Petrobras.
Silva was sworn in on Thursday but only held the office for hours amid a slew of legal actions. Police carried out a wave of searches and detentions linked to Odebrecht, one of the companies at the center of the Petrobas scandal. Investigators allege that corruption ran so deep in the Brazilian company that it had a specific sector in charge of disbursing bribes.
Prosecutors announced they had detained about 15 people, including company executives, as part of the “Car Wash” probe.
Prosecutors have said the scheme involved more than $2 billion in bribes paid to obtain Petrobras contracts, with some money making its way to the governing Workers’ Party as well as opposition parties. Some of Brazil’s wealthiest people have come under scrutiny, as have dozens of politicians from both the governing coalition and the opposition.
While the company’s former president, Marcelo Odebrecht, was recently sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for his role in the scheme, Tuesday’s operation widens the probe into the construction firm — one of the main builders for this year’s Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Silva has also come under scrutiny. Police showed up at his home earlier this month and took him in for questioning. He has not been charged and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
Critics contend that Silva’s nomination was an attempt to protect him since only the Supreme Court can authorize investigations, charges or detention of Cabinet ministers. Rousseff has denied that, saying her mentor would help build legislative support for her agenda and aid in the fight against impeachment proceedings over allegations she violated fiscal regulations.
Odebrecht has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, but on Tuesday it issued a terse statement saying it was cooperating with the investigation.
Speaking at a news conference, prosecutors said Odebrecht’s so-called “structured operations sector” was responsible for bribes and continued to operate even well after the Petrobras corruption probe began two years ago.
Odebrecht “really had a sector that organized, did accounting for, had a hierarchy and a mandate for the payment of bribes,” said federal prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima, adding that federal and state projects were being scrutinized.
Odebrecht is suspected of making payouts in projects including the airport in the central city of Goiania, the extension of the Rio de Janeiro subway and Sao Paulo’s Arena Corinthians, where the opening match of the 2014 World Cup was held, according to court findings on which the searches and arrests were based.
The document said projects in Portugal, Angola and United Arab Emirates also were involved, but did not name them.
The findings said investigators are looking into a possible payment of 500,000 Brazilian reais ($138,000) involving the Corinthians soccer club.
Police official Renata Rodrigues called the company’s illicit payout scheme “professionalized and institutionalized” and said Marcelo Odebrecht appears to have been directly involved in the scheme even after his detention in June of last year.
Rodrigues said that employees involved in the scheme emailed their superiors with requests for the authorization of bribes.
Laura Goncalves Tessler of the federal prosecutors’ office said those who worked in the payouts sector tended to be veteran employees who were “very well paid.” She said that after the probe began, the company attempted to shield the employees by offering them postings abroad.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.