Hundreds of people attend a rally to protest against
corruption at Avenida Paulista on Dec. 4, 2016 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Cris
Faga—LatinContent/Getty Images
Brazil Prosecutor Says Massive Corruption Probe Could Double
in Size
Peter Prengaman / AP
Jan 27, 2017
(CURITIBA, Brazil) — The lead federal prosecutor in a
massive corruption investigation roiling Brazil says that recent developments
could double the size of the case, a staggering possibility given that the
probe has ensnared many of the country's elite, threatens to bring down
President Michel Temer and is expanding to other Latin American countries.
Nearly three years after the first arrests in March 2014,
the so-called Car Wash investigation has no end in sight, said Deltan
Dallagnol, coordinator of the task force in the state of Parana, where the
operations began and are still largely centered under the jurisdiction of Judge
Sergio Moro.
Judge Sergio Moro
"I would say that the new plea agreements could allow
the Car Wash operation to double its size in the future," Dallagnol told
The Associated Press on Thursday, declining to go into detail because the cases
were ongoing.
What started as an investigation into money-laundering has
morphed into a corruption scandal so large that it has shocked Brazilians long
accustomed to graft in politics.
Investigators say more than $2 billion in
bribes were paid out in a kickback scheme that was centered at state oil
company Petrobras and included major construction companies like Odebrecht. In
the last few years, dozens of politicians and top businessmen have been
convicted and jailed, and many more are facing charges.
"Lava Jato": Car Wash corruption scheme
In a wide-ranging interview, Dallagnol said the
investigation "lives at risk" because of forces trying to snuff it
out. He said the pressures were increasing as the number "of powerful
people caught up in it grows by the day."
Dallagnol said the loss of Supreme Court Justice Teori
Zavascki, who was overseeing a large part of the investigation and died in a
plane crash last week, was a huge blow but ultimately would not derail the many
cases in progress.
Supreme Court Justice Teori Zavascki died in a plane crash.
He said that while many believed the investigation was
creating a "new Brazil", its long-term impact depended on whether
Latin America's largest nation took measures to reform its political and
judicial systems. He likened it to an ill patient who goes to the doctor and
gets a diagnosis but doesn't act on the medical advice.
"Unfortunately, we are still at the diagnostic
stage," said Dallagnol, who studied law in Brazil and then did a master's
degree at Harvard University.
Dallagnol said the Car Wash investigation was succeeding
thanks to a four-pronged strategy: plea bargains that lead to new revelations,
operational "phases" that build on each other, close cooperation
between justice and legal officials, and a transparent communication strategy
that includes divulging details of cases once arrests are made.
Major companies involved in kickback scheme.
Dallagnol also praised Moro, the judge, saying his vast
knowledge of laws related to corruption and ability to succinctly apply the law
were key factors.
To many Brazilians, fed up with corruption and their
political leaders, Moro and Dallagnol are heroes, a designation that Dallagnol
flatly rejects.
Lead federal prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol
"We are just doing our jobs," he said.
The investigation has become so large that it is expanding
to other states and judges. The arrest warrant issued Thursday in Rio for Eike
Batista, previously one of the world's richest men now wanted for allegedly
making bribes, is a testament to how far the Car Wash investigation and its
offshoots have gone.
Eike Batista under arrest.
Last year, prosecutors reached a plea agreement with dozens
of executives of constructor Odebrecht. The agreements, expected to be made
public early this year, are believed to have damning evidence of bribes against
top politicians in Brazil and possibly in other Latin American countries, including
Argentina, Peru and Venezuela.
Evidence of bribes against top politicians in Latin America.
Temer, who has been fingered in other plea bargains but
never charged, could be removed by the electoral court if Odebrecht plea
bargains detail illegal campaign financing that he has long been accused of
accepting. Temer has denied wrongdoing.
Michel Temer, president of Brasil.
Dallagnol brushed off criticism of the tactics used during
the investigation, which have included building cases based in part on plea
bargains, wire taps and making accusatory statements about defendants who have
not been convicted.
While detailing money laundering and corruption charges
against former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in September, Dallagnol
called Silva "the maximum commander of the corruption scheme
identified as Car Wash."
Lula da Silva
"the maximum commander of the corruption scheme identified as Car Wash."
Supporters of Silva and his Workers' Party immediately
accused Dallagnol of playing politics since Silva had yet to even stand trial.
Silva, president between 2003 and 2010, has expressed interest in running for
the presidency in 2018 and leads in preference polls.
Dallagnol defended the designation, saying it was based on
all the cases against Silva, not just the charges being presented that day.
Dallagnol noted that only two of the five cases against Silva are in his
jurisdiction."In Car Wash, I've learned that politicians are never
corrupt," Dallagnol deadpanned. "They are always persecuted."
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