Brazilian ministers investigated for corruption will have to step down, says govt

Brazil's Minister of the Presidency Eliseu Padilha, who is in charge of liaising between government officials, announced Monday that any officials being investigated by Operation Lava Jato will have to step down.

In an interview with the daily newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo, Padilha said this decision had been taken by interim President Michel Temer to prevent new revelations from destabilizing his government.

Operation Lava Jato, also known as Operation Car Wash, investigates corruption at the country's oil giant Petrobras.

"If any person within the government appears within Lava Jato, the president's position is that this person must step aside," he said.

In the last weeks, two Temer ministers have already left the government due to being targeted by Lava Jato, and others may follow in the next few weeks.

Brazil's prosecutor general Rodrigo Janot lodged a case at the Supreme Court (STF) last week, accusing Tourism Minister Henrique Alves of having received funds embezzled from Petrobras through the intermediary of the suspended president of the Chamber of Deputies, Eduardo Cunha.

Padilha also told the newspaper that Temer is planning to release a package of "impactful measures" soon to stimulate the economy, currently mired in a deep recession.

Initiative thoughts likely to be part of this package include the loosening of exploitation rules for underwater, pre-salt oilfields, the complete opening-up of the aviation sector and of land purchases to foreign capital. Endit