20 Sep 2011

Deputy Tourism Minister Arrested for Corruption

Brazilian Deputy Tourism Minister, Frederico Silva da Costa (pictured here), has been arrested this Tuesday in a large operation by the Federal Police that detained 37 other ministry officials.

The arrests took place in Brasilia, São Paulo and Macapá. According to the police, the government officials are investigated for awarding contracts at inflated prices to complicit companies.

This is another in a series of corruption scandals that have hit Ms. Dilma Rousseff’s government since its beginning in January. In the last months, corruption allegations involving her former Chief of Staff and the ministers of Transport and Agriculture have led to a number of resignations among high-ranking officials.

For the full article on bbc.co.uk, please click here. The picture of Mr. Costa is from newspaper Hoje em Dia.