BRAZIL-PETROBRAS/CORRUPTION Brazil's former President Collor de Melo and current lower house speaker Cunha charged in corruption probe- Federal Prosecutor's Office

Record ID: 143165

  • Title: BRAZIL-PETROBRAS/CORRUPTION Brazil's former President Collor de Melo and current lower house speaker Cunha charged in corruption probe- Federal Prosecutor's Office
  • Date: 20th August 2015
  • Summary: RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL (FILE) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF PETROBRAS BUILDING CLOSE-UP OF PETROBRAS LOGO ON BUILDING
  • Embargoed: 4th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Brazil
  • Country: Brazil
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAEXEHHGJA2FS83N9NNW2XK7C0Q
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Brazilian federal prosecutors charged the speaker of Congress' lower house, Eduardo Cunha, and former President Fernando Collor de Melo in a widening political kickback scandal linked to contracts with state-run oil company Petrobras, the prosecutor's office said.
    Cunha, the first sitting politician charged in Brazil's largest-ever corruption scandal, was charged with both corruption and money laundering, accused of taking a $5 million bribe on contracts for two drillships, according to the federal prosecutor's office that did not specify the charges against Collor de Melo.
    A member of Brazil's largest party, known as the PMDB, Cunha quit President Dilma Rousseff's coalition last month to join opposition lawmakers seeking her impeachment. The corruption charges will weaken Cunha's offensive against the president.
    The country's top prosecutor filed the charges against Cunha at the Supreme Court, where he will face trial if he is indicted. Elected officials and cabinet ministers can only be tried by the highest court in Brazil.
    If convicted, Congress must decide whether to strip Cunha of his political rights and remove him as speaker, despite his telling reporters on Wednesday that he will not leave his post for any reason.
    "I will not leave my position for any reason, I am going to continue carrying out the role I was elected to do by the majority of the house. I am absolutely sure and calm about this," said Cunha before news of the charges.
    The prosecutor's office said it also laid charges against former President Fernando Collor de Melo, but it did not specify the charges. Collor's name had been on the Supreme Court's list of people under investigation in the Petrobras scandal.
    Collor was president from 1990 to 1992, when he resigned hours before his certain impeachment on corruption charges in an influence-peddling scandal. He has been a senator for his state of Alagoas since 2007.
    The corruption scandal centres on state-run oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA, as Petrobras is formally known. A defendant in the case, consultant Julio Camargo, said in plea bargain testimony that he paid Cunha the $5 million bribe.
    Cunha has denied the accusation and accuses Rousseff's government of framing him. Three dozen sitting lawmakers are under investigation in connection with allegations they received bribe money paid by engineering firms to obtain contracts with Petrobras, the country's largest company.
    Camargo and Nestor Cervero, a former international director at Petrobras, have been convicted of organising bribes from South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries Co in exchange for contracts to build two drillships, the Petrobras 10000, which was ordered by Petrobras and Mitsui & Co in 2006, and the Vitoria 10000, ordered by Petrobras in 2007.
    The news of the charges came on the day of nationwide protests against impeachment and for democracy, with many also calling for Cunha to be removed from office.
    "I am not here to defend Dilma Rousseff, I am here to defend democracy, the vote. She was elected so they (the opposition) have to respect that; if they want her position then they will have to wait until 2018 to run for office once again, that is if they manage to," said protester, Paulo Rodrigues, holding a copy of the Brazilian constitution in the air.
    A mix-match of frustrations were aired at the protests in Rio de Janeiro, however, with many calling for impeachment, blaming Rousseff for deepening economic woes.
    "We spend our lives waiting for promises, and we are still waiting. We do not have our own houses, we have to rent, rent prices have gone up, because the housing market has fallen. We basically have to choose between paying rent and buying food. We go hungry on this minimum wage that we are earning. Rousseff has to go, she is destroying Brazil," said protester, Carmen Lucia Alves dos Santos.
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