The former Brazilian presidents Dilma Rousseff, left, and Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are accused of running an organisation set up to extort $475 million in bribes AP:Associated PressDilma Rousseff, the former president of Brazil, has been charged for the first time in connection with a sweeping corruption probe that has already claimed the scalp of her predecessor, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and tipped the country into turmoil. Ms Rousseff, who was impeached last year, is accused of helping to run a criminal organisation that skimmed millions of dollars off the state oil giant in bribes and kickbacks in a corruption scandal that has shaken Brazil’s political system and economy. She was charged alongside Lula da Silva and six fellow members of the Workers Party yesterday. Lula da Silva has been sentenced to nine and a half years in prison for corruption but is currently free pending appeal. The latest step in…

Source: The Times September 06, 2017 07:52 UTC