Brazil federal police chief replaced in fallout over interview -ministry

BRASILIA, (Reuters) - Fernando Segovia, the director general of Brazil’s federal police who spearhead the country’s sprawling corruption cases, was replaced on Tuesday, the press office of the newly created Public Security Ministry said in a statement.

Segovia, who took office in November, came under pressure from prosecutors, federal police investigators and Brazilian media after he told Reuters in an interview earlier this month that a bribery investigation into President Michel Temer had found no evidence of corruption.

Segovia was told by Raul Jungmann, the former defense minister who on Tuesday was sworn in as minister of public security, that he was being replaced by Rogerio Galloro, who has spent more than two decades with the federal police, including a 2011-2013 stint as the organization’s representative in the United States.

Reuters was not immediately able to contact Segovia for comment.

Brazil’s crackdown on graft in recent years has led to scores of convictions of senior politicians, government officials and corporate executives, inspiring many Brazilians to believe that a longstanding culture of impunity was changing.

It also helped spawn similar crackdowns elsewhere in Latin America.

But criticism of Segovia has been sharp since he was nominated to the position by Temer in November.