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            Brazil Prosecutors Charge Lula in Money Laundering Probe

   by Reuters

   Former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva was charged in a
   money laundering investigation led by Sao Paulo state prosecutors on
   Wednesday, intensifying scrutiny of the politician questioned in a
   separate federal graft probe last week.

   A spokesman for the state prosecutors declined to specify the charges,
   but state investigators have said they suspect Lula's family owned an
   undeclared beachfront apartment in the city of Guaruja.

   Federal investigators echoed those allegations after they detained Lula
   for questioning in police custody on Friday, fanning a political crisis
   that has rattled his successor, President Dilma Rousseff.

   Lula has denied any wrongdoing and rejected the idea that he owned the
   luxury condo in Guaruja built by engineering group OAS, one of the
   conglomerates snared in a vast corruption scandal tied to state-run oil
   company Petrobras.

   Lula's lawyer called the charges an attempt by prosecutor Cassio
   Roberto Conserino to smear the former president.

   "Conserino turned two visits to an apartment in Guaruja into concealed
   ownership," defense attorney Cristiano Zanin Martins said in a
   statement calling on the Supreme Court to decide if state or federal
   prosecutors had jurisdiction.

   The charges may make it more urgent for Lula to accept, if offered, a
   post in Rousseff's government.

   Brazilian media reported on Wednesday that Workers Party members were
   pressuring Rousseff to offer its founder Lula a ministerial portfolio
   that would shield him from possible detention.

   If appointed, Lula could only be tried in the Supreme Court, placing
   him out of the reach of the federal judge investigating kickbacks at
   Petrobras.

   Rousseff's minister in charge of legislative affairs, Ricardo Berzoini,
   said on Wednesday that Lula could join Brazil's government if he
   wishes.

   "The ball is in his court," Berzoini told Reuters. "The government is
   good with it," he said.

   According to two sources close to Lula, he was reluctant to join the
   government but pressure from his party has had some effect.

   "The best chance that he has is to accept a ministry and for the trial
   to go to the Supreme Court so he receives a fair hearing," said one of
   the sources, who requested anonymity to discuss Lula's legal strategy.

   The snowballing scandal puts Rousseff in a tough spot as she promises
   independence for investigators while trying to contain the political
   fallout in her Workers' Party.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/brazil-lula-investigation/3228553.htm
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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/brazil-lula-investigation/3228553.html