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Brazilian police arrest Rio house speaker, court members in corruption probe

Xinhua, March 30, 2017 Adjust font size:

Brazilian federal police on Wednesday arrested Jorge Picciani, speaker of Rio de Janeiro's State Assembly and five members of the state audit court in a corruption probe.

According to the police, the five members are accused of participating in a bribe-taking scheme, taking up to 20 percent of the value of contracts between the private and public sectors, as well as taking bribes in exchange for account analyses.

The accounts court is responsible for inspecting the accounts of the government and ensuring transparency of the operations. Its members are appointed by the Rio state governor.

Picciani was forcibly taken to testify earlier on Wednesday for reported associations with the scheme. He is expected to make a statement on Thursday.

The operation is part of a probe into alleged embezzlement of public funds by government officials and legislators over the past three years. Endi