Switzerland Claims to Have Found Brazilian Speaker's Secret Accounts

10/01/2015 - 09h17

Swiss authorities sent Brazil secret account data linked to the speaker of Brazil's lower house of Congress Eduardo Cunha (PMDB-RJ) and family members in that country.

The volume of resources found–which is kept secret– was blocked by the authorities.

The PMDB member became the target of an investigation by Swiss prosecutors in April of this year, on suspicion of corruption and money laundering.

Attorney General Rodrigo Janot reported that his office intends to continue the investigation started by Switzerland.

The trail that led to Cunha's Swiss bank records were the tracking capabilities around lobbyist João Augusto Henriques' accounts.

Linked to the PMDB and arrested in Operation Lava Jato on September 21st, he admitted to having deposited money in an account that named Cunha as beneficiary.

Henriques told the Federal Police that he didn't know the account belonged to the congressman. He said he only found out that Cunha was the lead later, when confronted by the Swiss authorities.

The prosecutors accuse Cunha of having accepted bribes from the corruption scheme at Petrobras, but the denunciation has not yet been accepted by the Supreme Court.

Cunha's lawyers could not be reached for comment on the existence of the secret accounts. Cunha has always denied the charges.

Translated by SUGHEY RAMIREZ

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	Alan Marques - 29.set.2015/Folhapress
	Eduardo Cunha is the speaker of Brazil's lower house of Congress