Brazilian corruption probe sends politicians running for cover

BRASILIA: Brazilian politicians are scrambling to negotiate an amnesty for illicit funding as part of efforts to shield themselves from a widening graft probe that has engulfed President Michel Temer’s government and the Congress.

Lawmakers have for months sought a legislative slight-of-hand to evade the rapidly expanding ‘Car Wash’ investigation that has exposed systematic corruption on contracts at state enterprises, particularly oil firm Petrobras.

Panic in Brasilia hit fever pitch this week after Prosecutor General Rodrigo Janot, the country’s top prosecutor, called for investigations into bribery and political kickbacks that reportedly target six cabinet ministers and over 100 lawmakers. The scandal has reached into Temer’s inner circle and, though he is not a target of investigation, threatens his survival and the fate of proposed reforms to curb an untenable budget deficit and pull Brazil out of its worst recession.

The corridors of Congress emptied on Wednesday - the day after Janot’s request to the Supreme Court was made public - as the political class was convulsed by speculation over who would be on the secret list and how to avoid joining more than 80 businessmen and politicians already in jail.

Prosecutors say they are well aware of the efforts to confound their investigation, but remain confident that rising public indignation and the weight of evidence of various crimes will ensure those responsible are brought to justice.