Brazil: 3 Ex-Lawmakers Arrested in Corruption Case
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Version 0 of 1. The federal police on Friday arrested three former lawmakers who are suspected of involvement in a corruption scheme at the state-run oil giant Petrobras. They are the first politicians to be arrested in the scandal. Prosecutors have said the scheme involved payments of at least $800 million in bribes and other funds by big construction and engineering companies in return for inflated contracts with Petrobras. Part of that money, prosecutors say, went to the governing Workers Party and other parties. The three politicians — André Vargas of the Workers Party, Luiz Argôlo of the Solidarity Party and Pedro Correa of the Progressive Party — are accused of being involved with black-market money dealers who in plea bargain deals have said they helped move the money along with former top Petrobras executives who acknowledged taking hundreds of millions in bribes. |