Jair Bolsonaro claims to be under media attack after a news site reported members of the president’s family bought 51 properties for $4.7M.
Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform, bolstered by the rejection of the tarnished left.
(Reuters Archive)
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has claimed to be under attack from the media as he brushed aside allegations of corruption levelled against his family a month before he seeks reelection.
The online news site Uol published claims on Tuesday that members of the Bolsonaro family had bought 51 properties, paid partly or fully in cash, for a total of $4.7 million between 1990 and 2022.
"Why are they doing this against my family? Half of these assets belong to my ex-brother-in-law. What do I have to do with him? We have not seen each other for ages," the far-right president told the pro-government Jovem Pan radio on Thursday.
Uol said in reply that eight of the 51 properties cited in the report belonged to Bolsonaro's brother-in-law.
Making large cash payments is not a crime in itself, but can raise questions about the legality of the origins of the money.
'Looking for way to get at me'
"They are looking for a way to get at me 30 days before the election, but they won't succeed," said Bolsonaro, who is lagging in the polls behind leftist ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ahead of a first election round on October 2.
Lula's camp has asked the Supreme Court to open an investigation into the latest claims.
Bolsonaro was elected in 2018 on an anti-corruption platform, bolstered by the rejection of the tarnished left after a massive graft scandal involving state oil company Petrobras.
Lula's convictions in relation to that scandal were later overturned.
Source: AFP
Trailing Lula in the polls, incumbent Bolsonaro, known for his brash rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and a possible economic upturn to win, his communications minister says.
Brazil's general elections are scheduled for October 2.
(AP)
Former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who spent 19 months in prison on bribery convictions, has promised to crack down on corruption if elected in Brazil's October election.
Lula said on Thursday he would create new mechanisms to investigate anyone in his government accused of corruption and punish them if proven guilty.
"Whoever makes a mistake will pay, you can be sure of that," he said in an interview with TV Globo's Jornal Nacional, a newscast with the largest audience in Brazil.
Lula, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, was jailed in the country's biggest corruption investigation that put dozens of politicians and businessmen in prison for graft and bribes. His convictions were later annulled allowing him to run again for office.
"I want to return to do things better this time," he said, admitting mistakes by his handpicked Workers Party (PT) successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in the midst of a recession.
Lula has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over his far-right rival, President Jair Bolsonaro, in Brazil's most polarised race in decades.
Lula said Brazil's powerhouse farm sector had done well during his two terms as president when Brazil enjoyed a commodity boom. Bolsonaro, who is backed by the farm lobby, has eased environmental rules and frozen indigenous land claims.
If some farmers were against him, Lula said, it is because he opposes the destruction of the forest, but "serious" agricultural exporters were against illegal deforestation.
"What we need is to correctly tap our biodiversity and generate employment in the Amazon," he said.
READ MORE:Brazil to investigate lenders in credit card 'fraud' caseA 'moderate' Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro, who is not exactly known for mild rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and economic upturn to win, his communications minister said on Thursday.
Bolsonaro's polling is bruised by a weak economy, his controversial handling of Covid-19 and what critics call his extremism. Lula leads Bolsonaro by 47 percent to 32 percent, according to the latest poll from the Datafolha institute.
Ten other contenders are polling in single digits.
But his charismatic, cool-tempered communications chief, Fabio Faria, said he is confident a critical mass of Brazilians will ultimately pick Bolsonaro over four more years of the PT.
Surging onto the national scene in the wake of that triple crisis, Bolsonaro won the presidency in 2018 with broad support, taking 55 percent of the vote.
And though some of those voters are disillusioned today, Bolsonaro's camp is confident the incumbent will win them back with a softer tone and an improving economy, Faria told the AFP news agency in an interview at the presidential palace in Brasilia.
Known for downplaying Covid-19 as a "little flu," urging Brazilians to stop being "sissies" about the pandemic, and attacking institutions such as the Superior Electoral Tribunal, whose new chief he once called a "scumbag," Bolsonaro has been dialling his rhetoric down a notch, Faria said.
"The president's more moderate tone speaks to voters who had turned against him because they felt the president's style could have been more moderate," said the telegenic 44-year-old brought in to give the administration a communications makeover in June 2020.
As evidence of Bolsonaro's softer touch, he offered the incumbent's prime-time interview on Monday on TV Globo, the biggest broadcaster in the country of 213 million people.
Despite being a fierce critic of Globo, Bolsonaro was less aggressive than usual during the interview.
But he drew criticism for casting doubt on whether he would accept the election result if he loses.
Bolsonaro said he would respect the outcome "as long as the elections are clean and transparent."
Like many countries, Brazil is suffering from surging prices, fuelled by the effects of the pandemic and Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
But prices posted a record drop of 0.68 percent in July, thanks partly to government fuel tax cuts.
Bolsonaro has also passed a massive social spending programme that recently began making welfare payments of around $110 a month to some 20 million families.
READ MORE:Brazil police raid Bolsonaro allies reportedly over 'coup' texts
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
Trailing Lula in the polls, incumbent Bolsonaro, known for his brash rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and a possible economic upturn to win, his communications minister says.
Brazil's general elections are scheduled for October 2.
(AP)
Former leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who spent 19 months in prison on bribery convictions, has promised to crack down on corruption if elected in Brazil's October election.
Lula said on Thursday he would create new mechanisms to investigate anyone in his government accused of corruption and punish them if proven guilty.
"Whoever makes a mistake will pay, you can be sure of that," he said in an interview with TV Globo's Jornal Nacional, a newscast with the largest audience in Brazil.
Lula, who led Brazil from 2003 to 2010, was jailed in the country's biggest corruption investigation that put dozens of politicians and businessmen in prison for graft and bribes. His convictions were later annulled allowing him to run again for office.
"I want to return to do things better this time," he said, admitting mistakes by his handpicked Workers Party (PT) successor Dilma Rousseff, who was impeached in the midst of a recession.
Lula has a double-digit lead in opinion polls over his far-right rival, President Jair Bolsonaro, in Brazil's most polarised race in decades.
Lula said Brazil's powerhouse farm sector had done well during his two terms as president when Brazil enjoyed a commodity boom. Bolsonaro, who is backed by the farm lobby, has eased environmental rules and frozen indigenous land claims.
If some farmers were against him, Lula said, it is because he opposes the destruction of the forest, but "serious" agricultural exporters were against illegal deforestation.
"What we need is to correctly tap our biodiversity and generate employment in the Amazon," he said.
READ MORE:Brazil to investigate lenders in credit card 'fraud' caseA 'moderate' Bolsonaro
Bolsonaro, who is not exactly known for mild rhetoric, is now counting on a more moderate image and economic upturn to win, his communications minister said on Thursday.
Bolsonaro's polling is bruised by a weak economy, his controversial handling of Covid-19 and what critics call his extremism. Lula leads Bolsonaro by 47 percent to 32 percent, according to the latest poll from the Datafolha institute.
Ten other contenders are polling in single digits.
But his charismatic, cool-tempered communications chief, Fabio Faria, said he is confident a critical mass of Brazilians will ultimately pick Bolsonaro over four more years of the PT.
Surging onto the national scene in the wake of that triple crisis, Bolsonaro won the presidency in 2018 with broad support, taking 55 percent of the vote.
And though some of those voters are disillusioned today, Bolsonaro's camp is confident the incumbent will win them back with a softer tone and an improving economy, Faria told the AFP news agency in an interview at the presidential palace in Brasilia.
Known for downplaying Covid-19 as a "little flu," urging Brazilians to stop being "sissies" about the pandemic, and attacking institutions such as the Superior Electoral Tribunal, whose new chief he once called a "scumbag," Bolsonaro has been dialling his rhetoric down a notch, Faria said.
"The president's more moderate tone speaks to voters who had turned against him because they felt the president's style could have been more moderate," said the telegenic 44-year-old brought in to give the administration a communications makeover in June 2020.
As evidence of Bolsonaro's softer touch, he offered the incumbent's prime-time interview on Monday on TV Globo, the biggest broadcaster in the country of 213 million people.
Despite being a fierce critic of Globo, Bolsonaro was less aggressive than usual during the interview.
But he drew criticism for casting doubt on whether he would accept the election result if he loses.
Bolsonaro said he would respect the outcome "as long as the elections are clean and transparent."
Like many countries, Brazil is suffering from surging prices, fuelled by the effects of the pandemic and Russia's offensive in Ukraine.
But prices posted a record drop of 0.68 percent in July, thanks partly to government fuel tax cuts.
Bolsonaro has also passed a massive social spending programme that recently began making welfare payments of around $110 a month to some 20 million families.
READ MORE:Brazil police raid Bolsonaro allies reportedly over 'coup' texts
Source: TRTWorld and agencies
In an interview with IRNA's parliamentary reporter, Hojjatul Islam Alireza Salimi, referring to the reformists' creation of atmosphere about the corruption in Mobarakeh Steel Company, said: "The reformers' feet are stuck in the story of corruption in Mobarakeh Steel Company and they cannot escape from accountability."
The member of the presiding committee of the Islamic Council added: "When the issue of corruption was brought up in Mobarakeh Steel Company, the voice of the reformists was raised in the fight against corruption, but now that their names have been published among the corrupt, they have started the game of "Who was it, who was it, I wasn't there?" .
Salimi stated: The story of the reformists in the story of Foulad Mobarakeh corruption is the story of that wrongdoer and thief who runs in the market and shouts "Hey thief, thief."
He pointed out that many people are involved in the corruption case of Foulad Mobarakeh, from the former president's office to other people in the 11th and 12th governments.
The member of the presiding committee of the parliament informed about the serious efforts of the 13th government to fight against economic corruption and said: the government is looking to eliminate the roots of corruption and in this regard, it is very careful in appointing managers in the enforcement agencies.
A former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives and his chief of staff were indicted on Tuesday on corruption charges, according to the Justice Department.
The charges allege that former speaker and current State Rep. Glen Casada and his former chief of staff Cade Cothren created a company and a fake persona to receive state funds.
The indictment alleges that Casada and Cothren said the political consulting business they actually owned and profited from was run by a "Matthew Phoenix," but in reality there was no Matthew Phoenix and the men were profiting by diverting state funds to the business.
Casada, a Republican, said earlier this year he would not seek reelection, had resigned from House leadership in August 2019.
The Justice Department alleges the state mailer program was at the center of the corruption. The program allowed $3,000 to be used for sending constituent mail and said any other expenses could be offset by campaign funds.
"Casada and Individual 4 would and did receive kickbacks from Cothren in exchange for using their positions as members of the Tennessee House of Representatives to perform official acts, including pressuring the Tennessee House Speaker's Office and other State officials to approve Phoenix Solutions as a Mailer Program vendor and to disburse State funds to Phoenix Solutions," the indictment said.
Rep. Glen Casada attends a House session on the first day of the 2020 legislative session in Nashville, Tenn., Jan. 14, 2020.Mark Humphrey/AP, FILE
Another Tennessee state lawmaker was charged in March with similar crimes, according to DOJ.
They are also charged with bribery and kickbacks concerning programs receiving federal funds, honest services wire fraud; and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
The scheme, DOJ said, also involved other state representatives but they were not named nor charged in court documents, and the scheme went on for almost three years, according to court documents.
Both men were arrested by the FBI at their houses Tuesday morning, the Justice Department said in a release.
In 2020, these companies and Phoenix Solutions received approximately $51,947 from the State in payments associated with the mailer program, DOJ alleges.
The money laundering charges carry a 20-year prison sentence if those indicted are found guilty and the public corruption and bribery charges carry 10-year sentences.
Casada has not returned ABC News request for comment and there was no lawyer listed on the court docket for Cothren.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his Independence Day speech attacked corruption and 'parivaarvaad' (nepotism) in India and asked the citizens for their support to fight it.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the nation on Independence Day from Red Fort. (Photo from @BJP4India on Twitter)
In his speech addressing the nation on Independence Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India is currently facing two big challenges - corruption and 'parivaarvaad' (nepotism). He also appealed to the citizens for their support in the fight against corruption.
PM Modi addressed the nation from the Red Fort in a speech that lasted for about 83 minutes. Speaking on the topic of corruption in the country, he said, "Corruption is hollowing the country like a termite and we will have to fight it." He added that those who looted India in the past are "paying for their sins now". "We are confiscating their ill-gotten gain," added the prime minister.
He asked for the people's support in fighting corruption and said he is taking on "both corruption and the corrupted".
The prime minister also trained his guns on 'parivaarvaad' (nepotism) and said several institutions in India have been shackled by nepotism. He said, "It is not limited to just politics and it also promotes corruption. We need to free the country from nepotism as it is impeding the growth of the nation."
He said there is a need to raise awareness against nepotism to realise the strength of India's institutions and to take the country forward on the basis of merit.
A court in Mozambique sentenced former Labor Minister Maria Helena Taipo to 16 years in prison Thursday for her involvement in the embezzlement of 113 million meticals ($1.7 million) in public funds and illicit participation in business, local media reported.
Taipo was sentenced along with three of her accomplices, who received similar sentences, according to the media report.
They include Anastacia Zitha, the former national director of migrant labor in the Labor Ministry, Jose Monjane, the former head of the finance department in the directorate, and Pedro Taimo, the former coordinator of the mineworkers' project in the directorate, Mozambique’s Jornal Noticias reported.
Five others were handed 12-year sentences for embezzlement, while two of the 11 accused were acquitted.
Judge Evandra Uamusse of the Maputo City Court ruled that “Taipo and her accomplices had embezzled 113 million meticals from the Directorate of Migrant Labor,” the report said.
The judge said she had given the former minister a maximum sentence as “a deterrent measure” and because she had not shown any sign of repentance during the trial apart from claims such as “I did nothing” or “What I did was for the good of the institution.”
The court also ordered Taipo and her accomplices to repay the embezzled funds.
During the two-month trial, the court heard that the Labor Ministry and the directorate officials working with private companies had signed fraudulent contracts and formed a group with a plan to misappropriate public funds.
The defendants were also accused of ignoring the procedures for withdrawing money from the directorate accounts, transferring money to personal accounts and had issued fraudulent invoices and receipts for events which never happened.
Taipo was particularly pinned over authorizing bogus payments which the court found to have opened space for the embezzlement of funds.
Taipo was labor minister during former President Armando Guebuza’s 10 years in office.
She also served as governor of the central province of Sofala and then as Mozambique’s ambassador to Angola under current President Filipe Nyusi.
She was fired from her ambassadorial job after investigations over corruption were opened against her.
The defense has 20 days to appeal against the court’s verdict and sentencing.
US State Department has called on Ukraine's leadership to appoint a transparent successor to the sacked prosecutor as the country was criticised for managing corruption.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stands at the podium during a joint news conference with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, in Kyiv, Ukraine, July 3, 2022.
(AP)
The United States has urged Ukraine to pick a credible top prosecutor to replace one sacked by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, calling for action on corruption even as Kiev battles Russia.
"We join the people of Ukraine in emphasizing the importance of transparently appointing a highly qualified and truly independent successor as prosecutor general," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters on Tuesday.
"The independence and impartiality of the prosecutor general is vital to ensuring the integrity of accountability efforts in Ukraine," he said.
Price said that the fight against corruption, long a major concern in Ukraine, was critical as the country seeks membership in the European Union.
"Corruption must be combated even as Ukraine defends itself against Russia's war of aggression. Russia's war against Ukraine poses an external threat. Corruption poses an internal threat," he said.
Zelensky announced earlier this month that he was firing prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova as well as security chief Ivan Bakanov.
Zelensky cited the need to act against suspected treason by officials supporting Russia.
The president had been critical of the two senior figures' performance even before Russia's incursion on February 24.
The United States, which has poured billions of dollars into Ukraine to help it repel Russia, has a memorable history of addressing corruption in Ukraine.
President Joe Biden, while serving as vice president, demanded on a trip to Kiev that Ukraine fire an earlier prosecutor general seen as ineffective in fighting corruption, warning that the United States would otherwise withhold $1 billion in loan guarantees.
The episode became the source of allegations by former president Donald Trump, who was impeached for withholding security aid to Ukraine unless Zelenskyy agreed to dig up dirt on Biden.
WASHINGTON: The United States on Friday slapped a travel ban on Paraguay’s former president Horacio Cartes, accusing the businessman-turned-politician of corruption and links to “terrorist” groups.
Cartes, who led the South American nation from 2013 to 2018 and runs a business empire that has included tobacco and soccer teams, denied the allegations as “unfair and unfounded.”
The State Department declared Cartes and his three adult children ineligible to travel to the United States.
It said that Cartes “obstructed a major international investigation into transnational crime,” a reference to a money laundering scandal for which Brazil has sought the extradition of the former president.
“These actions undermined the stability of Paraguay’s democratic institutions by contributing to public perception of corruption and impunity within the office of the Paraguayan president,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
“Additionally, these actions enabled and perpetuated Cartes’ recently documented involvement with foreign terrorist organizations,” he added.
He did not specify further, but Paraguay’s Vice President Hugo Velazquez has accused the former leader of ties with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, which has allegedly profited on the smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes through Paraguay and its porous three-way frontier with Argentina and Brazil.
Argentina in June grounded an airplane with Venezuelan and Iranian crew after Paraguayan intelligence linked a passenger to Iran’s elite Quds Force, which backs Hezbollah.
But Argentine President Alberto Fernandez later said it was a false allegation.
Cartes in a statement said he was ready to provide “all the supporting and first-source information that authorities need” to prove his innocence.
His lawyer, Pedro Ovelar, said at a press conference in Asuncion that Cartes “suffers persecution from the government” of his successor Mario Abdo Benitez, his rival for leadership of the Colorado party in internal December 18 elections.
Ovelar said the State Department’s decision was based on “biased information resulting from strong lobbying by his political opponents.”
Despite the alleged Hezbollah links, Cartes pleased the United States as president by making Paraguay one of the few nations to move its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem, which the Palestinians also want as a future capital.
