Two former Brazilian presidents charged for forming 'criminal organization'
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Two former Brazilian presidents -- Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff – were charged on Tuesday with forming a “criminal organization” as investigations into two major corruption scandals advanced.
In addition to the decision to charge Lula and Rousseff, Brazilian police raided the home of the country’s Olympic chief and claimed officials paid a two million US dollars bribe to bring the 2016 Games to Rio de Janeiro.
Former presidents charged
Rodrigo Janot, the country’s attorney general, alleged that eight members of the Workers Party, including Lula and Rousseff, committed a series of crimes involving state-owned oil firm Petrobras such as cartel formation, corruption and money laundering.
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a rally in the
northeastern city of Lagarto, Brazil August 21, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva attends a rally in the
northeastern city of Lagarto, Brazil August 21, 2017. /Reuters Photo
A document filed with the Supreme Court accused Lula of heading the organization.
Lula concluded a 25-day campaign rally as the charges were announced, and is currently appealing a corruption conviction that would bar him from running for president in 2018. He faces four other corruption trials.
The criminal charges are the first to be brought against Rousseff, who was impeached in 2016 for breaking budgetary laws.
Brazil's former presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff attend a
rally in the northeastern city of Ipojuca, Brazil on August 25,
2017. /Reuters Photo
Brazil's former presidents Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff attend a
rally in the northeastern city of Ipojuca, Brazil on August 25,
2017. /Reuters Photo
Lula, Rousseff and the Workers Party hit back at the charges in separate statements: Lula's lawyer said the law was being misused to persecute the former president; the Workers Party said the charges were baseless and seeking to weaken the party; a representative for Rousseff said the prosecutor's office had offered no evidence of the alleged crimes.
The charges stem from the Operation Car Wash investigation that has uncovered a cartel of companies paying bribes to officials to secure Petrobras contracts.
Olympic corruption claims
Investigators said on Tuesday that politicians and the head of the national Olympic committee arranged a two million US dollars bribe to bring the 2016 Games to Rio.
Police raided the Rio home of Brazil’s Olympics chief, Carlos Arthur Nuzman, after prosecutors accused him of conspiring with former state Governor Sergio Cabral, already convicted in a separate corruption case, to "buy" the Games. Nuzman’s lawyer insisted his client was innocent.
Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman (2nd L) arrives
at Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 5, 2017. /Reuters Photo
Brazilian Olympic Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman (2nd L) arrives
at Federal Police headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on September 5, 2017. /Reuters Photo
The construction work on the 2016 Olympics was largely undertaken by companies now ensnared by the Operation Car Wash scandal.
"The Olympics were used as an enormous trampoline for corruption," prosecutor Fabiana Schneider said on Tuesday, citing billions of dollars spent on construction projects.
Nearly every infrastructure project connected to the Games is under investigation. Prosecutors allege that major construction firms bribed politicians and others to win contracts worth billions of dollars for the event.