Wife of Suspended Brazilian Lower-House Speaker Eduardo Cunha Indicted
June 09 2016 - 4:19PM
Dow Jones News
By Luciana Magalhaes
SÃO PAULO -- The wife of prominent Brazilian politician Eduardo
Cunha was indicted on corruption-related charges on Thursday, as
part of the country's far-reaching "Operation Car Wash" graft
probe.
According to prosecutors, Cláudia Cruz was aware of and
benefited directly from crimes of corruption allegedly committed by
her husband, the suspended speaker of Brazil's lower house of
Congress, who was indicted in March. Both are accused of money
laundering and other crimes. Neither of the two has been
incarcerated.
Ms. Cruz's lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, said his client had no
knowledge of her husband's alleged criminal acts and doesn't
believe they occurred. Mr. Cunha has denied wrongdoing.
Prosecutors said Ms. Cruz solely controlled a Swiss bank account
in the name of a Swiss company, which was used to cover more than
$1 million in credit-card expenses between 2008 and 2014.
Ms. Cruz allegedly used money deposited in the offshore account
to pay for designer products, such as expensive handbags, shoes and
clothing. She also used some of that money to pay for schooling of
the couple's children, prosecutors said.
According to Brazilian authorities, part of a bribe allegedly
received by Mr. Cunha in connection with a 2011 African oil
contract of Brazilian state energy company Petróleo Brasileiro SA
was deposited into the offshore account controlled by Ms. Cruz.
Mr. Cunha is accused of accepting some $5 million in bribes
uncovered by the Car Wash corruption investigation, which centers
on kickbacks and bribes surrounding Petrobras.
The suspended house speaker is a powerful conservative
politician and spearheaded the drive to impeach populist President
Dilma Rousseff, who last month was suspended from office for up to
180 days to face a Senate trial for allegedly violating budget
laws, allegations she denies.
After Ms. Rousseff's removal from office, Brazil's Supreme Court
forced Mr. Cunha out from his position as head of the lower house
of Congress, but not from his seat in the legislature. The lower
chamber's ethics committee is currently deciding whether or not he
should keep his seat.
Mr. Cunha is expected to be tried by the Supreme Court, the only
body that can prosecute sitting politicians in Brazil. But his
wife, who doesn't hold elected office, will have her fate decided
by Judge Sergio Moro, who is overseeing the main part of the Car
Wash investigation and who is feared because of the tough sentences
he has been handing down.
Scores of Brazilian politicians and businessmen have been snared
by the corruption investigation. Many of those individuals have
confessed or been convicted and jailed, while others are facing
trial or are plea-bargaining.
Write to Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 09, 2016 16:04 ET (20:04 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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