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Brazil's Labor Minister Resigns Over Corruption Allegations

Brazil's Labor Minister Resigns Over Corruption Allegations

(Bloomberg) -- Brazilian Labor Minister Helton Yomura resigned after being suspended by the Supreme Court over a corruption investigation.

Brazil’s presidency confirmed the resignation Thursday evening. Federal prosecutors accuse Yomura, from the Partido Trabalhista Brasileiro, known as the PTB, of participating in a fraudulent scheme involving the registry of trade unions, local media reported. Eliseu Padilha, the current chief of staff, will take over as interim minister, according to O Estado de Sao Paulo.

Yomura had only been at the post since April, when he was appointed by President Michel Temer amid a wide-ranging ministerial shake-up ahead of October’s elections. Under Brazilian law, candidates seeking to run for elected office must stand down from executive roles six months before polling day. Around half a dozen ministers have quit Temer’s government over corruption allegations since he took office in May 2016.

The president himself has also faced accusations from public prosecutors, but Congress has voted twice to shelve the charges.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bruce Douglas in Brasilia Newsroom at bdouglas24@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Vivianne Rodrigues at vrodrigues3@bloomberg.net, Robert Jameson, Bruce Douglas

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