Brazilians against political corruption on 15h March 2015
Million citzens of São Paulo, Brazil.
Petrobras scandal prosecutors seek tougher anti-corruption
laws
BY ANTHONY BOADLE
BRASILIA Fri Mar 20, 2015 7:07pm EDT
(Reuters) - Prosecutors who uncovered Brazil's biggest
corruption case called on Friday for tougher prison sentences and more legal
powers to crack down on rampant graft that costs taxpayers more than the annual
budget for education and health.
Hoping to ride a wave of national disgust over the latest
corruption scandal at state-run oil company Petrobras, the top federal
prosecutor's office known as PGR sent Congress proposals to stiffen penalties
for corruption to up to 25 years in prison.
The prosecutors are seeking legal reforms to speed up the
arrest of corruption suspects and seizure of their assets before they can be
hidden. They also proposed reducing Brazil's long appeals process that often
lets criminals go scot-free.
A multibillion-dollar kickback scheme uncovered at Petroleo
Brasileiro SA has shaken President Dilma Rousseff's government and threatens to
further slow a stagnant economy.
The investigation dubbed "Operation Car Wash" has
led to the indictment of scores of executives from Brazil's top builders. It
has implicated 47 politicians who allegedly received graft money, all but one
of them from Rousseff's governing coalition.
"The Car Wash case has angered Brazil but it has not
reduced corruption or impunity in the country," said the lead prosecutor
in the probe, Deltan Dallagnol. He said the proposals could transform the anger
into changes needed to fight corruption.
According to an estimate by the United Nations Development
Program, graft amounts to 200 billion reais ($62 billion) a year in Brazil, or
twice the 2014 health budget and 2-1/2 times the education budget.
A view is seen of the Petrobras headquarters in Rio de
Janeiro December 16, 2014.
CREDIT: REUTERS/SERGIO MORAES
The Petrobras scandal and economic downturn led to protests
by about 1 million people across Brazilian cities on Sunday.
The PGR's anti-corruption wish list came two days after
Rousseff made her own steps to counter rising discontent over the Petrobras
scandal that has undermined her popularity and put her Workers' Party and its
allies on the spot.
Both sets of measures call for the criminalization of
off-the-books slush funds - known in Portuguese as "Caixa 2" - that
are widely used by political parties to finance campaigns.
But the PGR plan goes further, proposing that political
parties be held responsible and penalized by exclusion from elections if their
members are found guilty of corruption.
On Monday, Dallagnol and his team of prosecutors charged the
treasurer of the ruling Workers' Party with corruption for soliciting donations
from executives accused of funneling money from Petrobras contracts to
politicians.
($1=3.22 reais)
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