Architect of Rousseff’s removal nabbed
BRASILIA: Brazilian police arrested Eduardo Cunha, the driving force behind former president Dilma Rousseff’s impeachment, in a new escalation of a corruption probe shaking Latin America’s biggest country.
“We can confirm that (Cunha) was detained in Brasilia,” a police spokesman said.
Cunha was later flown under close guard to Curitba, where the probe into a sprawling embezzlement and bribery ring at flagship state oil company Petrobras is based.
Cunha, nicknamed Brazil’s Frank Underwood after the scheming main character in the dark US political television series House of Cards, has been accused of taking some US$40mil (RM167mil) in Petrobras-related bribes, laundering money and hiding funds in secret Swiss bank accounts. Cunha, 58, denies all the charges. In addition to his detention, the authorities ordered the seizure of eight cars, including two Porsche Cayennes, along with other assets amounting to nearly US$70mil (RM292mil).
Top anti-corruption judge Sergio Moro said the detention was necessary because of risks to “public order, as well as a concrete possibility of flight given his access to hidden resources abroad, as well as double nationality,” the justice department said.
Part of Brazil’s growing conservative evangelical movement, Cunha has long been a consummate wheeler-dealer and became the architect of Rousseff ’s removal from office in August on charges that she broke government budget laws.
Rousseff, from the leftist Workers’ Party, was replaced by Michel Temer, from Cunha’s own centre-right PMDB party.
But Cunha’s triumph was shortlived as the corruption allegations caught up with him.
He was stripped of his congressional seat in September, losing his parliamentary legal privileges.
Cunha’s downfall signals that the Petrobras corruption probe headed by Moro is far from over.
Dozens of politicians – from the Workers’ Party but also numerous figures on the right – as well as business executives have already been charged or convicted in the embezzlement and bribery scheme.
Rousseff ’s presidential predecessor, the leftist icon Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, faces three corruption-related court cases, and speculation is rife that he may also be placed in pre-trial detention.
There is also speculation that Cunha could turn on old allies and strike a plea bargain with prosecutors, fuelling a new wave of corruption cases. He has already said he is writing a book.
Analysts say that Temer’s government will be nervous about fallout.
“The political consequences will depend on how long he remains in detention,” Alemida said.
“He has a lot of information on Dilma’s government, on the house of deputies, different parties.” — AFP