SAO PAULO, (Reuters) – A top aide to Brazil’s former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, was charged with corruption, money laundering and racketeering on Friday, making him one of the most senior members of Brazil’s ruling Workers’ Party to be formally accused in a massive kickback scandal.
Jose Dirceu, who was Lula’s chief of staff between 2003 and 2005, was arrested on Aug. 3 and prosecutors say he was a key architect of a price-fixing and political kickback scheme at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
“Dirceu committed crimes and should be punished because we are all equal in the eyes of the law,” federal prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol said at a news conference, reiterating his goal of stamping out what he calls a culture of impunity in Brazil.
