Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has been charged in the Petrobras corruption scheme that cost the state oil company billions of dollars.
Despite all accusations targeting Lula and his party, recent opinion polls have indicated that he enjoys sizable popularity among Brazilians and stands a much higher chance to win the next presidential election than potential rivals.
The former Brazilian president and his wife were also charged with receiving a luxury apartment at a seaside resort in Sao Paulo from a major construction company involved in the Petrobras corruption scandal.
"I'm proud to have created the largest left-wing party in Latin America", said Lula, 70, wearing a red Workers' Party shirt beneath a grey blazer.
Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht was sentenced to 19 years in prison earlier this year on charges of money laundering, corruption and taking part in a criminal association.
Many prosecutors and investigators say they can not imagine such a powerful figure was unaware of the institutionalized corruption and political kickbacks taking place at Petrobras and other state-run companies.
The prosecutor said Petrobras' total losses stemming from the inflated contracts amounted to roughly 42 billion reais (some $12.7 billion). The investigation into the scandal - dubbed "Car Wash" - has left the country's political class reeling.
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That investigation was made public a little under a year after Brazilian authorities announced they were investigating Lula for alleged influence peddling.
The two-year-old Operation Carwash investigation has uncovered how political appointees named by Lula's Workers Party and its allies handed overpriced contracts to engineering firms in exchange for illicit party funding and bribes; the probe helped propel last month's impeachment of Lula's chosen successor, Dilma Rousseff, on unrelated charges of breaking budget rules.
Last month, police initiated the case against Lula, saying that he'd received benefits with the value of 2.4 million reals or about $743,000.
Six others are also facing charges related to Lula's case, including executives from the OAS construction company implicated in the bribery scandal.
The Lula Foundation said at the time that it believes the former president had done nothing wrong. Lula has denied ownership of the three-floor condo in Guaruja.
If that happens, it would be the culmination of an extraordinary downfall for the former president and his party.
"The damage to the Workers Party is enormous".
