Brazil's tourism minister resigns amid graft scheme implications

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Brazil's tourism minister resigns amid graft scheme implications
June 16, 2016

SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Brazil's tourism minister, Henrique Eduardo Alves, resigned on Thursday, according to the president's office, making him the third minister to leave the month-old government of interim President Michel Temer.

Alves was one of about two dozen officials implicated in a graft scheme at state oil company Petrobras in plea bargain testimony by a former executive made public on Wednesday.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazils-tourism-minister-resigns-amid-graft-scheme-implications-200718529--business.html?nhp=1

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(Short article, no more at link.)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Third Brazil minister named in corruption scandal resigns

Third Brazil minister named in corruption scandal resigns

By AFP 1 hour ago .

Brazil's interim president Michel Temer lost the third cabinet member of his month-old administration to a swirling scandal when his tourism minister resigned Thursday after being accused of taking bribes.

Presidency sources told AFP that tourism minister Henrique Eduardo Alves had submitted his resignation after a key witness accused him of accepting 1.5 million reals (around $445,000) diverted from state oil company Petrobras.

Alves, a member of Temer's center-right PMDB party, joins former transparency minister Fabiano Silveira and former planning minister Romero Juca, who were both forced to resign over leaked phone recordings linked to the scandal. Temer and Alves were among some 20 politicians named in the latest batch of allegations to emerge in the explosive scandal.

Sergio Machado, the former chief executive of Petrobras subsidiary Transpetro, said in a plea deal with prosecutors that both men asked him for money from an illegal kickbacks scheme that diverted some $2 billion from the national oil giant.

More:
http://www.digitaljournal.com/news/world/third-brazil-minister-named-in-petrobras-scandal-resigns-officials/article/467878#ixzz4BmUpHzlL

[iandhr]

2. Dilma's opponents violated one of the important rules of politics.

If possible allow your opponent to self-destruct.


She had dismal approval ratings. Impeaching her when under corruption allegations yourself is a damn stupid thing to do. This side show helps her in the long run.


As a note, I am not taking sides it just my observation.

[Judi Lynn]

3. Time: Brazil’s Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month

Brazil’s Interim Government Just Lost Its Third Minister in a Month


Rishi Iyengar @Iyengarish
12:45 AM ET

Tourism chief Henrique Alves quits amid a graft scandal


Brazil’s interim government lost its third cabinet member within the space of a month on Thursday, with the country’s tourism minister resigning shortly after being named in a corruption investigation into state-run oil company Petrobras.

Henrique Alves’ departure comes less than two months before the country hosts the 2016 Olympics. He has denied the allegations against him but said in a letter to interim President Michel Temer that he didn’t want to “create embarrassments or any difficulties for the government,” Reuters reports.

Sergio Machado, a former senator belonging to Temer’s PMDB party and the longtime head of Petrobras’ shipping subsidiary, told investigators that Alves had received kickbacks totaling $450,000. He also implicated Temer himself, detailing an attempt by the 75-year-old leader to solicit illicit campaign funds for his party — an accusation Temer slammed as “irresponsible, ridiculous, mendacious and criminal.”

Alves’ resignation and the controversy surrounding the interim government have further fueled turmoil in the recession-hit South American nation, where recently-ousted President Dilma Rousseff awaits a vote in the Senate to confirm her impeachment over charges of budget manipulation.

http://time.com/4372710/brazil-tourism-minister-resignation-alves-temer-corruption/

(Short article, no more at link.)