MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Brazilian federal judge has accepted obstruction charges filed by the Federal Prosecution Service against country's former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva along with a number of top officials, local media reported on Friday.
According to Agencia Brasil, Lula da Silva is accused of interfering in Operation Car Wash investigation into Brazil’s state oil and gas company Petrobras corruption affair as he tried to stop former Petrobras International Director Nestor Cervero from making a deal with investigators.
Operation Car Wash (Lava Jato) has been ongoing since 2014 in a bid to probe into kick-back schemes in Petrobras then run by now suspended President Dilma Rousseff. The corruption scandal in Petrobras combined with economic setback led to protests against Rousseff followed by her suspension from office amid accusations of concealing the country’s budget deficit ahead of the 2014 re-election.
