Brazil’s Former President Turns Himself In to Police
Prosecutors accuse Temer of “leading a criminal organization” that received or was promised more than $471 million.
(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s former President Michel Temer handed himself in to police following a court ruling that’s unlikely to cause upheaval in domestic politics.
Temer turned himself in on Thursday afternoon, after federal court judges ordered his detention on charges of corruption, embezzlement, money laundering and conspiracy. The former head of state was initially arrested on March 21 but released four days later. Temer’s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The 78-year old’s party, the MDB, issued a note condemning the “unreasonable” decision.
Local media reported that the former president said he will appeal the ruling. “I have always maintained that there is no evidence in relation to these questions,” he said. “It’s an injustice.”
While Temer’s arrest in March sent shock waves through Brasilia’s political establishment and weighed on Brazilian assets, Thursday’s developments had much less of an effect. It may increase tension between the government and the ex-president’s allies, but the immediate consequences appear minimal.
“We don’t see a direct impact between Temer’s jailing and the passage of reforms,” said Juliano Griebeler, a political analyst at the Barral M Jorge consultancy, in reference to proposals including a pension reform that are currently in Congress.
Prosecutors accuse Temer of "leading a criminal organization" that received or was promised more than 1.8 billion reais ($471 million) in funds diverted from several state-owned companies and public works, including construction of Angra 3, an unfinished nuclear power plant in the state of Rio de Janeiro.
To contact the reporter on this story: Mario Sergio Lima in Brasilia Newsroom at mlima11@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Raymond Colitt at rcolitt@bloomberg.net, Bruce Douglas, Matthew Malinowski
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