Brazil: Temer urges prosecutor general to speed up probes

Amid the news about Odebrecht executives' plea bargain statements under Operation Car Wash implicating a number of politicians, President Michel Temer urged Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot to speed up the testimonies from those under investigation by the Prosecutor Service and bring their possible process of approval to an end “as quickly as possible.”

Arguing that the country is going through “a severe economic and political crisis,” the president criticized the leaking of the statements, and said that the fiscal adjustment measures implemented by the government have been “suffering interference arising from the illegitimate release” of testimonies. Before the statements are not given in full and approved, the country, he says, will continue under “an atmosphere of distrust and uncertainties.”

Last Friday (Dec. 9), a number of pieces of information surfaced regarding the testimony of Cláudio Melo Filho, former Odebrecht vice-president for institutional relations, heard as part of Operation Car Wash. According to reports released over the last few days, the executive of Brazil's biggest construction company said he gave lawyer José Yunes, a friend of Temer's and one of his closest advisers, an amount of money in cash, in 2014.

The accusations also involve other important names in the government, such as Chief of Staff Eliseu Padilha; former Planning Minister Romero Jucá; and Geddel Vieira Lima, head of the government's secretariat. All have denied any wrongdoing.

The request, signed by Temer himself, was sent to Rodrigo Janot this Monday (12) through Attorney General Grace Mendonça.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira