Off the wire
• China monthly box office surpasses North America's  • Communities flee clashes in western Colombia  • China to defend interests of emerging economies at G20 summit: Argentine expert  • Brazilian justice minister resigns  • Chinese shares close higher Tuesday  • China extends fishing ban on Yangtze River  • Tokyo shares rebound on upbeat China stocks  • Indonesia to deploy over 14,000 officers to guard OIC summit  • Nepal confirms PM's official trip to China  • Chile hails first Oscar for "Bear Story"  
You are here: 　 Home

Brazilian lower chamber president tries to postpone corruption trial

Xinhua, March 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

The defense attorneys of Brazilian congressman Eduardo Cunha, president of the Chamber of Deputies, Monday requested the postponement of his trial in the Supreme Court, which is scheduled for Wednesday.

Cunha was accused of taking bribes in exchange for using his influence to help Samsung Heavy Industries land a contract with state-controlled oil and gas giant Petrobras for the construction of platform ships.

According to Brazil's Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, evidence shows that Cunha received at least five million U.S. dollars from the South Korean shipbuilder between 2006 and 2007.

Cunha, who has led the Chamber of Deputies since January 2015, is a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party and has been facing mounting pressure to step down from his position since the accusation was made.

The animosity between Cunha and President Dilma Rousseff is no secret in the political arena, which culminated after Cunha started impeachment proceedings against Rousseff for covering up suspected financial irregularities within her government in 2014 and 2015. The process was halted for the Congress's summer recess and will be restarted soon. Endi