"Perplexed" with Arrest of Senator, Rousseff does not Fear Plea Bargain

12/01/2015 - 09h41

President Rousseff said in Paris on Monday that she was "extremely perplexed" by the arrest of the Workers' Party senator Delcídio do Amaral last week, on charges of attempting to obstruct the investigations of Operation Lava Jato into the corruption scheme at Petrobras. Rousseff said she is not concerned by the possibility of Amaral striking a plea bargain with prosecutors.

	Leandro Colon/Folhapress
	"I have nothing to fear from a plea bargain by senator [arrested]" Rousseff said.

"I wasn't expecting that to happen, no-one was," she said, when interviewed by Folha at the COP21 climate summit in Paris.

"I have nothing to fear from a plea bargain by senator Delcídio [Amaral]" she said afterwards, at a press conference. "The senator was very well connected in the Senate. We chose him because he had relations with all parties, including those of the opposition."

This is the first time Rousseff has commented on the arrest of Amaral, who was the government's leader in the Senate until last week.

Rousseff also denied approving the appointment of Nestor Cerveró as Petrobras' international director. In a statement to the Federal Police, Amaral said that Cervero's appointment was approved by Rousseff in 2003, when she was minister of mines and energy in the Lula administration.

Cerveró is one of the most high-profile convicts of the Lava Jato investigations and is currently serving a jail sentence for diverting Petrobras resources. He has recently struck a plea bargain with investigators.

Rousseff also emphasized her distance from the banker André Esteves, from BTG Pactual, who is accused of conspiring with Amaral to obstruct the investigations. "I don't know him very well," she said. "I haven't had systemic relations with him. I met him at forums, I remember him being at Davos."

Translated by TOM GATEHOUSE

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