Public Prosecutor Charges PT Treasurer with Corruption, Money Laundering and Conspiracy

03/17/2015 - 09h19

The Public Prosecutor's Office has charged another 27 people, including the treasurer of the Workers' Party (PT), João Vaccari Neto, and the ex-director of Petrobras, Renato Duque, with corruption, money laundering and conspiracy.

Also among the accused is the businessman Adir Assad - who allegedly set up ghost companies used to launder money - and Lucélio Roberto von Lehsten Góes, son of Mario Góes, who is already in police custody in Curitiba, accused of running the corruption scheme at Petrobras.

Duque, Assad and Lucélio Góes were arrested on Monday (16) morning, in the tenth stage of the investigation into the corruption scheme at Petrobras. The Federal Police also have arrest warrants for Sonia Mariza Branco and Dario Teixeira Alves Junior.

The new accusations, according to prosecutors, relate to corruption at four Petrobras construction projects: the gas pipelines Urucu-Coari and Pilar-Ipojuca, and the refineries Araucária and Paulínia.

Prosecutors have also suggested that there are businesspeople involved in the new accusations, including executives from the companies OAS, Mendes Jr and Setal.

According to the Attorney General, Vaccari helped to broker the payment of bribes to the PT which were paid to the party along with official donations between 2008 and 2010.

These donations total more than US$1.2 million and were made to institutions such as the national party headquarters and the PT's Bahia headquarters. Specific donations to election campaigns were not made in this case.

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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	Roosewelt Pinheiro - 30.mar.2010/AFP
	Workers Party (PT) Treasurer Joao Vaccari Neto