Brazil graft report urges charges

by Steve Kingstone
A parliamentary inquiry into corruption in Brazil has recommended that 79 people should face criminal charges.

The accused include politicians, civil servants and business executives.

The most high-profile name is Antonio Palocci - a former finance minister who resigned earlier this year amid corruption allegations.

The report also expresses concerns about the payment of a debt in the name of Brazil's President, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula.

It suggests the money used to settle the debt may have been raised illegally by the governing Workers Party.

This inquiry was set up to look at irregularities in Brazil's gaming industry, but its scope soon widened.

Thursday's 1,400-page final report also covers party finance and corruption in state-run agencies and local government.

Brazil's former finance minister, Antonio Palocci, is accused of defrauding taxpayers while he was mayor of Ribeirao Preto, a town in the state of Sao Paulo. It is alleged that public funds were skimmed off from contracts relating to refuse collection.

Mr Palocci, who denies the claims, has already been charged by the police.