Brazilian President Temer Faces New Charges

Brazil’s attorney general has filed charges of obstruction of justice and racketeering against President Michel Temer and six other politicians from his party. In August Temer has already survived a corruption vote.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Brazil’s attorney general Rodrigo Janot on Thursday brought criminal charges against President Michel Temer before the Supreme Court, the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Temer and six of his associates, including jailed ex-speaker parliamentary Eduardo Cunha, have been charged with involvement in a criminal organization and obstruction of justice.

The prosecutor’s office has accused Temer of running a criminal scheme since his time as vice president to commit "illicit actions in exchange for bribes" that brought them at least 587 million Brazilian reals ($188.4 mln) in illegal proceeds.

The alleged criminal ring is suspected of getting kickbacks from large firms in exchange for securing contracts with state-run oil firm Petrobras and loans from Brazil’s second largest bank, Caixa Economica.

Temer is also accused of having solicited bribes from Joesley Batista, a former chief of the JBS meat-packing giant, to silence Lucio Funaro, who made a plea bargain with the government to testify against the president.

The new charges come a month after the embattled president survived a parliamentary vote that rejected another bribery charge against him. Their backing would have sent the corruption case to the top court, which has the power to trigger an impeachment trial.