La Nacion, Wednesday September 14, 2016 20:39

Lula Accused of Being “Maximum Commander” of Petrobras Corruption Network

Lead prosecutor of Operation Lava Jato accused ex-president of leading bribery scheme; including crimes of corruption and money laundering

By Alberto Armendáriz

RIO DE JANEIRO – The judiciary is closing in on Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. For the first time yesterday, the public prosecutor’s office – which is investigating the multimillion-dollar corruption case in Petrobras – formally accused the popular ex-president of Brazil of being the senior leader of the bribery scheme that reigned in the state owned oil company.

“Lula was the maximum commander of the corruption scheme in Petrobras,” said Deltan Dallagnol, lead prosecutor of the so-called Operation Lava Jato, during a press conference in Curitiba – which is at the center of the ongoing investigation that has shaken Brazil’s political and business world for more than two years now.