Four former Brazil presidents to be investigated

Justice Edson Fachin of Brazil's Supreme Court has ruled that allegations implicating Brazil's former presidents Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and Dilma Rousseff in the “Car Wash” corruption scandal heard from former executives of Odebrecht construction firm in their plea bargaining statements should be addressed by lower courts. Fachin's ruling upheld the Prosecutor-General's Office (PGR) argument that the three former presidents no longer have special jurisdiction privileges, which means they can now be prosecuted in the ordinary lower and appeals court system rather than the Supreme Court.

Emílio Odebrecht, one of the owners of Odebrecht building corporation, said the company donated under the table to former president Fernando Henrique Cardoso's presidential campaigns in 1993 and 1997. Cardoso will now be prosecuted in a federal court in São Paulo.

The accusations against former president Lula were remanded to a federal court in Paraná. Odebrecht whistleblowers mentioned alleged dealings with Lula to use his political influence to secure an interim presidential decree designed to avoid engaging the Prosecution Service in leniency deals struck by businesses in the Car Wash probe.

The whistleblowers went on to mention requests for Lula to pull the strings to secure contracts with the government of Angola for Odebrecht; the renovation, by Odebrecht, of a country house in Atibaia, São Paulo state, which allegedly belonged to Lula, and the hiring by Odebrecht of Lula Institute's lectures in exchange for political favors.

Former president Dilma Rousseff was accused of receiving illegal donations for her election campaign. The allegations will be handled by a federal court in São Paulo.

The probe on former president, now Senator Fernando Collor de Mello will be handled by the Supreme Court because of Collor's special jurisdiction privileges as a member of Congress. He is accused of receiving unreported donations from Odebrecht for his campaign to the Senate in 2010.

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Cardoso declined to comment until he has access to the contents of the ruling. Lula's counsel dismissed the whistleblowers' allegations, maintaining he did not break any laws. Rousseff's campaign counsel said all donations received were reported to, and approved by, the Electoral Court. Collor's lawyers declined to comment.

Translated by Mayra Borges