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The Brazilian speaker of the lower house Eduardo Cunha is being investigated for receiving US$475,000 from construction company OAS in exchange for securing contracts for the construction of venues and other projects for next year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Attorney General Rodrigo Janot, who launched a legal investigation last week, has accused Cunha of using "the lower house as a center for trading bribes for bills."
The report goes on to accuse Cunha of influencing legislation approved in 2012, which granted tax exemptions to Olympic infrastructure projects and lifted important tariffs on foreign goods needed for the event.
The Brazilian government estimates that the tax breaks totaled around US$1 billion.
In August 2016, Rio will host South America's first Olympic Games. The total costs for the Games have totaled at least US$11 billion, about 30 percent more than the initial budget agreed upon when the city was selected by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
According to a recent report released by the local organizing committee, 88 percent of the main competition venues have been completed, a level similar to that accomplished in London one year before the beginning of the 2012 games.
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Meanwhile, Cunha faces separate corruption and money laundering accusations, including allegations that he received millions of dollars from companies that paid him and other lawmakers and officials bribes in exchange for contracts with the state-run Brazilian oil company Petrobras.
WATCH: Police Raid the House of Eduardo Cunha
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