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Brazilian prosecutors on Tuesday said they had uncovered systematic corruption at engineering conglomerate Odebrecht, with an office that paid bribes on work for state-run oil firm Petrobras, World Cup soccer stadiums and other projects.
Police have arrested 10 of the 15 people sought in connection with the latest phase of a massive two-year corruption probe, including Odebrecht executives and money launderers, Police Chief Igor Romario said at a news conference.
The investigation has led to the imprisonment of a number of top executives and politicians and threatened to topple President Dilma Rousseff. Her predecessor, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, also has been targeted.
Prosecutors said their probe proved that Marcelo Odebrecht, the former CEO and scion of a billionaire family controlling Latin America's largest engineering firm, was in charge of the bribery operation. Odebrecht was involved in building at least four of Brazil's 12 World Cup stadiums, including Corinthians.
He was sentenced to 19 years in jail after being convicted of corruption and money laundering.
The political crisis comes as Brazil grapples with a deep economic recession, public health issues related to the Zika virus outbreak, and preparations for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
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