brazil corruption scandal plea bargains
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Brazil corruption scandal plea bargains

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Brazil corruption scandal plea bargains

The giant Car Wash corruption probe in Brazil will be overseen by Federal Supreme Court Minister Edson Fachin
Brasília - Arab Today

Brazil's Supreme Court named a new point man to oversee the giant Car Wash corruption probe, which is about to grow thanks to a flood of plea bargains.

At the top of Justice Edson Fachin's workload will be dealing with plea bargains by executives from Odebrecht, a construction giant at the heart of a pay-to-play scheme.

Although their testimony remains sealed, media leaks indicate it will be explosive -- not least by reportedly implicating President Michel Temer.

Here's what we know so far about Car Wash and the looming Odebrecht testimony:

- The scheme -

During much of the 2003-2010 presidency of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, corrupt executives at the national oil company Petrobras colluded with contractors like Odebrecht to hand out inflated contracts in return for bribes. The money lined the pockets of important political leaders and also poured into party slush funds.

Petrobras, one of the biggest companies in Latin America, was badly damaged. It has blamed losses of some $2 billion on the scandal.

The damage to public confidence in the political system was just as great. Among those charged with taking bribes is Lula himself. He denies wrongdoing.

Hard-charging prosecutors and judges on the case, meanwhile, have become folk heroes.

- Odebrecht's role -

Odebrecht is a massive Brazilian company involved in major infrastructure projects worldwide.

Led by its former CEO Marcelo Odebrecht, it became a central player in the corruption scheme, paying off so many politicians and Petrobras executives that it ran a special department to organize the graft.

Bribes were given not only to secure sweetheart deals but also to influence political parties and get favorable legislative action.

In a not too successful attempt to boost secrecy, politicians were given codenames such as Babel, Polo and Ferrari.

Odebrecht's former vice president for institutional relations, Claudio Melo Filho, told prosecutors in his plea bargain that some $4.2 million were funneled into the coffers of Temer's center-right party, PMDB, in 2014 alone, according to Brazilian media leaks.

Marcelo Odebrecht was arrested in June 2015 and sentenced to more than 19 years behind bars.

- The plea bargains -

From the start, Car Wash prosecutors have made big use of plea bargains -- offering suspects a chance for lighter sentences if they spill the beans and testify for the government.

The motherlode of plea bargains comes from Odebrecht, not just Marcelo himself but a total of 77 executives.

Their testimony has been filed with the Supreme Court, which hears all cases involving sitting politicians. Fachin will manage those cases, including exercising authority over future evidence-gathering such as wiretaps -- another frequently used Car Wash tool.

Top Car Wash prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told AFP last month that the number of suspects would double with the Odebrecht testimony.

"We are investigating thousands of multimillion-dollar crimes committed by hundreds of people," he said.

Until now, the highest-profile political players in the scheme have been from Lula's Workers' Party. However, leaks indicate that the Odebrecht testimony will also point the finger at Temer's PMDB -- and the president himself.

"The company's goal was to maintain a regular relationship of financial concessions and requests for help from these politicians... to favor the interests of the business but not necessarily those of the republic," Melo Filho reportedly told prosecutors.

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

brazil corruption scandal plea bargains brazil corruption scandal plea bargains

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

brazil corruption scandal plea bargains brazil corruption scandal plea bargains

 



GMT 10:10 2017 Thursday ,09 February

3 Important Elements You Have to Consider

GMT 04:03 2017 Monday ,24 April

Bella Hadid ‘dying’ to visit Palestine

GMT 19:25 2016 Wednesday ,25 May

The Brooklyn Desk by Oeuf NYC

GMT 07:49 2018 Friday ,05 January

2 Russian servicemen killed

GMT 07:58 2018 Monday ,01 January

Italy orders N. Korea's envoy to leave

GMT 08:45 2017 Wednesday ,20 December

US military imagines war without GPS

GMT 17:26 2017 Sunday ,17 December

Putin thanks Trump for help in foiling attack plot

GMT 22:19 2017 Monday ,16 October

Cairo-hosted Fatwa conf. new contribution

GMT 02:27 2016 Friday ,10 June

Video hints Japan abetting illegal ivory trade

GMT 07:04 2017 Wednesday ,19 April

1,883 Bahrainis found jobs in March

GMT 14:24 2016 Tuesday ,22 November

Citi and JPMorgan top list of ‘globally banks’

GMT 21:43 2017 Friday ,01 September

People question Nazaruddin`s repatriation expenses

GMT 09:41 2017 Wednesday ,19 April

OIC concerned over violence in Mali

GMT 01:30 2017 Friday ,27 October

May22/Jun21

GMT 05:38 2016 Friday ,30 December

Dubai Airports divert 13 flights due to heavy fog

GMT 11:38 2017 Saturday ,14 January

Mexico names new ambassador to US

GMT 12:03 2017 Wednesday ,22 March

Kuwait to mark World Water Day

GMT 15:00 2017 Wednesday ,27 September

HM King receives invitation from Egyptian President

GMT 02:45 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

President Bashir arrives in Chad

GMT 02:45 2017 Wednesday ,16 August

Turkmen President Visits Pakistan
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday