Brazilian speaker implicated in graft

He allegedly received RM20mil in kickbacks

SAO PAULO: More than US$5mil (RM19.75mil) in overseas bank deposits apparently were earmarked for the speaker of Brazil’s lower house of congress, who’s leading an effort to impeach President Dilma Rousseff, said a black market money dealer.

Leonardo Meirelles told the Chamber of Deputies’ Ethics Committee that he converted US$5.1mil (RM20.1mil) into Brazilian reals and turned the money over to his partner, Alberto Youssef, who told him it was for Eduardo Cunha.

Last year, Youssef turned state’s evidence and told lawmakers that Rousseff and her predecessor, former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, knew of the sprawling corruption kickback scheme that has engulfed staterun oil company Petrobras.

Both Rousseff and Silva have denied knowing about the scheme. Earlier in the day, Rousseff complained about “selective leaks” in the investigation claiming that they are aimed at hurting her politically.

“Our constitution that guarantees the privacy, and above all our legislation, prohibit leaks that today constitute selective leaks, directed leaks, which clearly are aimed at creating the right conditions for a coup,” she said.

Cunha is the driving force behind the impeachment process against Rousseff and is second in line to succeed her should she be forced to step down.

The speaker is facing money-laundering charges in connection with the scheme at Petrobras where bribes were paid to win contracts from the oil company. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Meirelles said he received the US$5.1mil from Julio Camargo, a convicted former consultant to Petrobras who has been sentenced to more than 20 years in jail for his involvement in the corruption scheme.

He was charged with graft and money laundering and has been allowed to remain free pending the outcome of his appeal.

Also on Thursday, the Federal Prosecutor’s office said Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki accepted the plea bargain testimony of former executives of Andrade Gutierrez, Brazil’s second-largest construction company who are under house arrest for their alleged involvement in the Petrobras kickback scheme.

Citing secrecy laws, the prosecutors’ office provided no information on the content of the testimonies of Andrade Gutierrez’s former president Otavio Marques de Azevedo and Flavio Barra, a former executive of the company. — AP