Brazil’s former presidential chief-of- staff gets 23 years in jail for corruptionMay 20, 2016 - 09:50 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - A Brazilian judge has sentenced the former presidential chief-of-staff, Jose Dirceu, to more than 23 years and three months in jail for corruption, money laundering and conspiracy, BBC News reports. Dirceu was convicted for involvement in a kickback scheme at the state oil company, Petrobras. He served in the government of former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and was once tipped to succeed him. Dirceu maintains his innocence and says the accusations are political. Judge Sergio Moro sentenced another 11 people on Tuesday for involvement in the scheme, including the former treasurer of the Workers' Party, Joao Vaccari Neto. Judge Moro has been leading the investigations into the Petrobras scandal, which has cost the company more than $2bn (£1.45bn), prosecutors said. Part of the money was used to finance the electoral campaign of top Brazilian politicians, they allege. Dirceu was Lula's chief of staff from 2003 to 2005. In 2012 he was convicted of running a scheme that used public funds to buy support from opposition parties in congress. It became known as Mensalao, or Big Monthly Allowances. Mr Lula was not implicated in the scandal. Dirceu was one of the closest advisers of the former president, but was sacked when the first allegations of corruption emerged. He was replaced by Dilma Rousseff, who went on to become president. She was suspended by the Senate earlier this month to face an impeachment trial. Rousseff has not been accused of corruption. She is facing accusations of illegally manipulating finances to hide a growing public deficit ahead of her re-election. But the corruption probe at Petrobras has played a major part in the impeachment proceedings as it exposed the involvement of politicians from the governing coalition and eroded support for President Rousseff, the BBC's Julia Carneiro in Rio de Janeiro says. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Ucom Celebrates Telecommunication Day May 17 commemorates the founding of the International Telecommunication Union on May 17, 1865. Armenian, Azerbaijani heads of parliament meet in Switzerland President of the Armenian parliament Alen Simonyan met with the Speaker of the Azerbaijani Milli Majlis Sahiba Gafarova. Border residents overnight on highway to protest Armenia’s Residents of Kirants continue to express outrage over the government’s decision to cede land to Azerbaijan. Get Started: An educational platform for young startuppers The Get Started program which operates in two phases is an important platform for young startuppers. |