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News > Latin America

Brazil Agriculture Minister Faces Corruption Charge

  • Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi – accused of bribery – denies any wrongdoing, his press office said in a written statement.

    Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi – accused of bribery – denies any wrongdoing, his press office said in a written statement. | Photo: Reuters

Published 2 May 2018
Opinion

Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi – accused of bribery – denies any wrongdoing, his press office said in a written statement.

Prosecutors in Brazil filed charges against Agriculture Minister Blairo Maggi on Wednesday, accusing him of orchestrating a bribery scheme in 2009 when he was governor of Mato Grosso state.

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Brazil's Agriculture Minister Targeted in Corruption Probe

Prosecutor General Raquel Dodge filed charges at the Supreme Court, according to a written statement from the federal prosecutor's office. 

Maggi denies any wrongdoing, the press office of the agriculture minister said in a written statement.

Under Brazilian law, Maggi, as a government minister, can only face a trial if the Supreme Court approves it. There was no indication on Wednesday as to when the court would make a decision, Reuters reports. 

Dodge accused Maggi of participating in a scheme to pay a judge on the Mato Grosso state audit court US$3.4 million in public funds to retire, so that Sergio Ricardo de Almeida, who was a Mato Grosso state lawmaker, could take the post, which he did.

Almeida was removed from the court last year and faces a trial in a lower-level federal court in connection with the supposed scheme.

Almeida could not be reached for comment.

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