Brazil: Ex-finance minister jailed for 12 years

Brazil’s former finance minister has been sentenced to 12 years in jail for corruption and money laundering. Antonio Palocci was found guilty by a Brazilian court as part of the country’s massive corruption probe known as Operation Car Wash which has shaken the country’s political and business elites. Palocci served as finance minister under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and as chief of staff for Lula’s successor, impeached president Dilma Rousseff. Brazil ex-finance minister jailed for 12 years in graft probe https://t.co/MaZLsHtPKN— FT World News (@ftworldnews) June 26, 2017 Palocci has offered to provide details about the kickback scheme under investigation in return for reducing his jail term. Such information could hurt Lula’s chances of running in the 2018 election. Plea bargain testimony from Palocci, once one of Brazil’s most powerful politicians, could also widen the scope of the corruption probe currently focused on engineering firms, to include banks and other corporations. Corruption charges against Brazil’s Temer expected to come in waves: source https://t.co/T2HSq7GZak pic.twitter.com/2vYPyWtBJl— Reuters Top News (@Reuters) June 24, 2017