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Brazilian construction company accused of money laundering with Olympic venue funds

Xinhua, July 1, 2016 Adjust font size:

Brazilian construction company Delta was accused by police on Thursday of money laundering with funds destined for the Maria Lenk Aquatic Center, built in 2006 for the 2007 Pan-American Games and which will host swimming, diving and water polo at the 2016 Olympic Games.

Police investigators on Thursday arrested Delta's main shareholder Carlos Augusto Ramos in the city of Goiania, they announced in a press conference. They added that Delta laundered 370 million reals (115 million U.S. dollars) through 18 fictitious companies.

Delta laundered money obtained in projects through fraudulent tenders, overbilling, embezzling of public funds and irregular payments, said the police.

"In each project that we identified, Delta obtained some advantage. For the Maria Lenk center, the fraud was evidently in the tender. There were even projects where the works never took place," said investigator Leandro Mitidieri at the press conference.

A total of 23 people have been denounced as part of this investigation but one of Delta's owners, Fernando Cavendish, has fled the country despite an arrest warrant against him. Endit