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Brazilian police make more arrests in anti-corruption investigations

Xinhua, April 2, 2016 Adjust font size:

Brazilian federal police on Friday arrested several people in a move marking the beginning of a new phase of the so-called "Operation Car Wash," which centers around a massive corruption scheme at the state oil company Petrobras.

The arrestees include Silvio Pereira, the former secretary-general of the ruling Workers' Party (PT); Delubio Soares, the PT's former treasurer; and Bruno Altman, a well-known journalist.

Police said Pereira may have received 1.1 million reais (310,000 U.S. dollars) in bribes between 2009 and 2012.

Investigators are now focusing on a specific money laundering ring, which Jose Carlos Bumlai, a friend of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva alleged laundered around 6 million reais (1.68 million U.S. dollars) "from the criminal and fraudulent management" of Banco Schahin, a small lender supported by Petrobras.

Bumlai said that Banco Schahin gave a loan of 12 million reais (3.3 million dollars) in October 2004 to the PT for the party to pay its debts, but the money was never repaid and at least half of it was pocketed by Ronan Maria Pinto, a businessman from Sao Paulo, who was also arrested in the Operation Car Wash, which began over two years ago. Endi