Brazil: Attorney general says Speaker hid US$16 million in Swiss bank

Authorities seek to Keep accounts frozen

Saturday, October 17, 2015

Attorney general says Speaker hid US$16 million in Swiss bank

BRASILIA — The Brazilian Attorney General’s Office yesterday accused the Speaker of the Lower House Eduardo Cunha of hiding US$16 million in Swiss bank accounts in a new twist to the political battle gripping the country.

The Attorney’s General’s Office therefore called for a new freeze on Cunha’s overseas assets yesterday after finding “sufficient evidence” that the money he and his wife have deposited in Swiss bank accounts come from “illegal acts,” Brazilian media reported yesterday.

The latest request to freeze Cunha’s assests is included in the Brazilian Supreme Court’s (STF) investigation, that was opened after Swiss authorities claimed the leader of the Lower House had received kickbacks in the Petrobras scandal.

Two of the four accounts have already been frozen by the Swiss Attorney General, who originally reported Cunha to the Brazilian authorities last month.

Now, as the case has been handed over to the Brazilian prosecution, the accounts could be unlocked in Europe. That is why the Brazilian Attorney General’s office is looking to freeze these accounts once again to prevent the possibility of them being emptied.

Speaking to local media yesterday Deputy Attorney General Eugênio Aragão said: “There is no doubt whatsoever that those accounts belong to Cunha and his wife Claudia Cruz.”

“His estimated holdings were approximately US$16 million,” he added.

Prosecutors specified that Cunha has declared only about half a million dollars of that amount. The funds have all been frozen.

The Attorney General’s Office also said yesterday that personal documents of the parliamentarian leader (passport copies, address in Rio de Janeiro and signatures) confirm that he was the beneficiary of these accounts.

Cunha was formally denounced on August 20 by Attorney General Rodrigo Janot before the Supreme Federal Court (STF) for his alleged participation in a kickback scheme carried out by Petrobras.

Janot charged Cunha with corruption and money-laundering and claims that he asked companies for bribes in exchange for contracts with the state-run oil company.

Among the indications of Cunha’s suspected wrong-doing is a number of “illegal” bank accounts. His assets increased by a total of 214 percent between 2002 and 2014.

Aragão said this week that there are “enough indications” that the accounts abroad had not been declared to the Tax Office and that, at least in the case of Cuhna, they “proceed from a crime.”

Cunha, who is third in line after Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff and her Vice-President Michel Temer, is a member of the Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB), the government’s main political ally.

However, Cunha’s relationship with the executive power hasn’t been very cordial since August as a result of a tense dialogue with Congress.

As head of the Lower House, Cunha has the authority to accept or reject impeachment demands against Rousseff.

At present, he is evaluating such requests but he has not revealed any details if he will carry out any of those demands.

Cunha denies all charges brought against him, claiming he is being unfairly targeted by the Attorney General’s Office.

The main opposition parties made public a demand last week for Cunha to resign. A request for his resignation had already come from supporters of the ruling Workers’ Party (PT) in Congress.

Herald with online media