By AFPMore by this AuthorFormer Brazil president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was convicted and sentenced on Wednesday to nine and a half years in prison for corruption and money laundering. The sentence by Moro, whose wide popularity in Brazil for his anti-corruption work has prompted some to see him as a possible presidential candidate, fed into broader political ructions in Brazil. Lula's chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, was impeached and booted from office last year, with her vice president, Michel Temer, taking over the reins. Palocci played a central role in the "Car Wash" scheme, most of which unfolded when Lula's Workers' Party was in power from 2003 to 2016. Prosecutors said Palocci was a point man in the flow of "bribes between the Odebrecht construction group and intermediaries of the Workers' Party," laundering more than $10 million used for party campaign finances.

Source: Daily Nation July 12, 2017 19:07 UTC