Brazilian police arrested a former Sao Paulo mayor and two prominent financiers on Tuesday in a case that grew out of an influence-peddling scandal involving senior government officials.
Federal police announced arrest warrants for 24 people in connection with schemes involving prominent businessmen Daniel Dantas and Naji Nahas. Charges include corruption, money laundering, sending illegal remittances abroad, tax evasion and criminal associations.
Protogenes Queiroz, the federal police officer who heads the investigation, said charges stemmed from a four-year investigation of top aides to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and allied party officials accused of bribing lawmakers.
At a news conference in Sao Paulo, Queiroz said there were two criminal organizations, one headed by Dantas, the other by Nahas.
“We were amazed with the level of organization and the power of these two organizations to intimidate and corrupt,” Queiroz said.
Dantas’ attorney Nelio Machado called the arrest of his client “arbitrary and unnecessary.”
A lawyer for arrested former Sao Paulo Mayor Celso Pitta called the operation “sensationalist.”
“The operation was released in the press before he was even detained at his home at 6am,” attorney Paula Sion de Souza Neves told Globo TV. He did not address accusations against Pitta.
Nahas’ lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment. An appeals court last year threw out Nahas’ 1997 conviction and 25-year sentence in a stock futures scheme.
Pitta was mayor of Brazil’s largest city and financial capital from January 1997 to December 2000 and is fighting criminal charges in another case that he diverted public funds to private accounts while mayor. Pitta has denied wrongdoing in that case.
Queiroz said the recent probe began after investigators discovered financial transactions between a bank that Dantas owns and an advertising executive accused of providing the money to legislators to support government initiatives in Congress.
Federal police added that their investigations into Dantas also led them to another other group, headed by Nahas, which they said was involved in insider trading and illegal foreign exchange trades.
Police said Pitta was arrested for using Nahas’ firm to illegally transfer funds abroad.
Dantas, one of the owners of Banco Opportunity, a private investment bank, testified before a congressional committee in 2006 that the former treasurer of the ruling Workers’ Party asked for money to help the bank keep control of a telephone company.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster
RSS