BRAZIL
A Dirty State
Rio de Janeiro state police arrested outgoing Mayor Marcelo Crivella Tuesday on charges of corruption in relation to a kickback scheme, the latest of the seemingly endless graft scandals to embroil the country and especially Rio over the past five years, the Associated Press reported.
Authorities said that Crivella has close links with businessman Rafael Alves, whose brother was the head of the city’s tourism office: The businessman was also arrested Tuesday over allegations that he chose which companies would win contracts, and promised to award them in exchange for payments.
Crivella called his arrest unfair and said that he was “the mayor who most fought corruption.”
The evangelical bishop and ally of far-right President Jair Bolsonaro was scheduled to leave office next month after losing the mayoral election against his predecessor, Eduardo Paes.
Crivella is the latest figure in Brazil and especially the state of Rio de Janeiro to be dogged by corruption charges.
In August, Governor Wilson Witzel was suspended from office when a top court linked him to irregularities in health spending earmarked for the fight against Covid-19. Wilson is also facing impeachment proceedings: If he is convicted, his position goes to another official under investigation, Deputy Governor Cláudio Castro.
Corruption probes in recent years have resulted in the jailing of five of Rio’s former governors. One of them remains behind bars.
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