House speaker challenges prosecutor-general
House speaker, Eduardo Cunha
Deputy Eduardo Cunha, speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, released a note Friday (Oct. 16) describing Prosecutor-General Rodrigo Janot's leaking information that he received kickback payments through bank accounts held in Switzerland as “cunning strategy.” The leakage, Cunha says, was “solely aimed at undermining his administration and hurt his image as a public figure.”
Rodrigo Janot
In the statement, Cunha says he has been persecuted by Janot and denies having been granted benefits “in any way, from whomever it may be, in connection with Petrobras or any other firm.” He vehemently refuted allegations that he took advantage of any benefits “to cover spending of any nature, including personal.” In Cunha's view, the prosecutor-general's attitude “calls into question the respectability of an inquiry that should be serious—and aim to fight corruption. [It] brings to light the political persecution facing the president of the Chamber of Deputies.”
At the end of the text, Cunha says he trusts the Supreme Court (STF), adding that the top court “will make justice by considering the facts in an unbiased manner.”
In another development in the case, the Prosecutor-General's Office (PGR) announced to the STF that the lower house speaker had been receiving bribes from Petrobras contracts up to September 2014. The facts were included in the motion through which the PGR requested, in August, the opening of the criminal case against Cunha over allegedly having accepted $5 million in a drillship contract at Petrobras.
In another motion, the PGR requested that the Supreme Court freeze and seize 2.4 million Swiss francs from bank accounts in Switzerland registered under Eduardo Cunha. The PGR awaits the ruling of Justice Teori Zavascki to ensure the money is returned to public coffers in case Cunha is held accountable by the top court.
The PGR also plans to investigate whether Cunha and his family are responsible for sending undeclared money overseas. The charges over the Swiss accounts associated with Cunha have been brought under scrutiny in a case at the Supreme Court.
Translated by Fabrício Ferreira
Fonte: House speaker challenges prosecutor-general
