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Brazil opens probe into former president

July 17, 2015

Prosecutors in Brazil have begun investigating whether former President Inacio Lula da Silva illegally lobbied for construction firm Odebrecht. The company is Latin America's largest engineering company.

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Brasilien ehemaliger Präsident Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Image: imago/ZUMA Press

A spokesman for the federal prosecutor's office in Brasilia said there was "an investigation into possible influence peddling by ex-president Lula with the leaders of other countries on behalf of the construction company Odebrecht."

The investigation was launched on July 8, but authorities chose to reveal it only on Thursday. The former president's foundation issued a statement saying he had nothing to fear. "We are calm. The Lula Institute is certain of the transparency and legality of ex-president Lula's activities," spokesman Jose Chrispiniano said.

Ignacio Lula da Silva is considered a major world figure and responsible for Brazil's rise to economic power.

His country's prosecutors, however, accuse him of using his influence to acquire billion-dollar deals for Odebrecht in Panama, Venezueala and some African countries. He is also believed to have convinced the state-owned BNDES bank to finance the projects.

Baukonzern Odebrecht Marcelo Odebrecht Vorstandsvorsitzender
Marcelo Odebrecht was arrested last monthImage: Reuters/E. Castro-Mendivil/Files

The announcement of the probe comes a month after Odebrecht's CEO, Marcelo Odebrecht, was arrested on charges of leading a cartel of engineering firms that fixed prices. There were also allegations of Odebrecht bribing executives at state oil giant Petroleo Brasiliero SA, or Petrobras, to grant inflated contracts.

Some of the money is supposed to have gone to the ruling Workers' Party. President Dilma Rousseff, the chairwoman of Petrobras for seven years, has not been directly implicated, but calls for her resignation have been getting louder.

mg/gsw (AP, AFP, Reuters)