'Ex-Brazilian president played role in Petrobras corruption'

Brazilian Attorney General Rodrigo Janot has accused former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of playing a key role in the huge corruption scandal in state oil company Petrobras.

Janot on Tuesday urged the Supreme Court to authorise an investigation against da Silva for alleged corruption, BBC reported.

The former president was previously accused of getting a penthouse flat in favourable conditions from a building company involved in the Petrobras scandal.

But the accusations filed now by the Brazilian attorney general are much more serious.

Janot said Lula and other senior politicians conspired to create a scheme that siphoned off vast amounts of money from Petrobras.

He requested authorisation to investigate Lula and 29 other senior politicians, officials and businessmen.

However, Lula, who was in office between 2003 and 2011, has denied all the allegations. He returned to frontline politics in March, when President Dilma Rousseff nominated him as her chief of staff.

Prosecutors said the corruption scheme is estimated to have cost the company more than $2 billion, part of which was used to finance the electoral campaign of top Brazilian politicians.

--IANS

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