Brazilian police arrested Jose Dirceu, who served as chief of staff under former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, saying he helped put into place an alleged system of kickbacks at the state-run oil company.
The “operation that goes beyond Jose Dirceu as a recipient and a beneficiary,” federal police investigator Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima said at a press conference in Curitiba. The probe “seeks Jose Dirceu as an instituter of the Petrobras scheme even as he was chief of staff.”
The investigation into inflated contracts at Petrobras has roiled Latin America’s largest nation since allegations spread from oil executives to builders and politicians, drawing closer to the ruling Workers’ Party. The latest allegations come as Lula’s protege, President Dilma Rousseff, labors to rebuild support in Congress as her popularity languishes amid an economic downturn.
Brazil Energy Insight 
Leave a comment