Brazil Supreme Court opens inquiries against lower house speaker
Supreme Court (STF) Justice Teori Zavascki authorized Monday (25) the opening of two new inquiries against Eduardo Cunha, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies. The motions reached the court last week under court secrecy, and mention crimes of corruption and money laundering. Cunha is now facing four inquiries and one criminal case with the Supreme Court.
On Friday (22), Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot said Eduardo Cunha is targeted by more than six inquiries for different allegations in operation Car Wash, which investigates corruption cases at Petrobras. In December 2015, Janot asked the STF to remove Cunha from his post as lower house speaker. The case has not been slated for trial so far.
To justify his request Janot named 11 facts that prove Cunha takes advantage of his position as deputy and head of the lower house “to intimidate peers, defendants who agreed to plea bargain deals, and lawyers.” Last month, the Supreme Court started a criminal case against Cunha as it understood there are signs indicating the congressman received $5 million in bribes for a drillship contract at Petrobras.
Cunha's defense lawyer said the charges filed by the Public Prosecution Office against him “do not fulfill the requirements to be accepted.”
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: Brazil Supreme Court opens inquiries against lower house speaker
