Brazil: Prosecutors file charges against former President Lula and wife

Former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is now facing charges for the first time under Operation Car Wash. The announcement was made today (Sep. 14) by the task force of the Federal Prosecution Service (MPF), spearheading the operation. The allegations further include his wife Marisa Letícia da Silva and six other people.

Prosecutors claim that the onetime president was the beneficiary of illicit advantages in connection with a renovation of a triplex in Guarujá, on the coast of São Paulo by construction company OAS. According to the federal prosecutors, the refurbishment was offered him as compensation for his actions in the corruption scheme at Petrobras.

The charges also target Paulo Okamotto, president of Lula Institute, and former OAS President Léo Pinheiro. The four other accused are also tied to the construction firm.

The Prosecution Service is also investigating whether works carried out by Odebrecht on a farm often visited by Lula's family in Atibaia,  São Paulo, derive from illicit advantages benefiting him. Odebrecht is another construction company implicated under Operation Car Wash.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira