Brazil Police Raid Homes of Senator Allied with Lula in Corruption Probe

Federal police in Brazil have carried out more than a dozen raids as part of a widening corruption investigation, including one targeting a senator closely allied with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

On Thursday, Brazilian police released a statement saying 18 search-and-seizure warrants were executed in the federal district of Brasilia, as well as the states of Bahia and Sao Paulo.

One involved Senator Jaques Wagner, 75, a former Bahia governor who helps lead the governing Workers’ Party coalition in Congress.

The warrants were part of an ongoing probe into financial “irregularities” tied to the former lending bank Banco Master.

Brazil’s courts ordered the bank to be liquidated last year, and in March, its owner, Daniel Vorcaro, was arrested as he faced accusations of fraud, money laundering and other crimes.

Thursday’s warrants marked the latest in a series of raids designed to uncover the extent of Vorcaro’s financial crimes and how they might have driven government corruption.

Brazil’s Supreme Court authorised the search warrant to allow investigators to explore a “possible illicit relationship” between Banco Master and Senator Wagner.

It added that Wagner may have received “undue economic advantages” through his connection to the bank, including access to private planes and compensation, such as millions of dollars and an apartment.

In return, Wagner is accused of advocating for the bank’s interests by promoting a failed constitutional amendment that would have increased the amount of money that could be insured by a bank-fed fund during times of crisis.

Other warrants on Thursday targeted figures like Augusto Lima, one of Vorcaro’s former business partners.

Wagner, meanwhile, has denied any illicit activity, including the receipt of funds from Banco Master.

“My property is clean,” Wagner posted on social media, adding that he had received a “phone call of solidarity” from President Lula, who expressed his “confidence” in him as well.

The Workers’ Party Senate caucus has also issued a statement backing Wagner, pointing to the senator’s explanation and calling on supporters to “fear not”.

But the mushrooming scandal has grown to touch both sides of Brazil’s political spectrum — and could even be a factor in the country’s upcoming presidential race in October.

Effects on presidential race

In May, the publication The Intercept Brasil released a series of alleged WhatsApp messages between Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, a right-wing presidential candidate, and Vorcaro, the disgraced bank leader.

The messages purportedly show Bolsonaro courting Vorcaro to finance a film about the life of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently in prison serving a 27-year sentence for attempting to subvert Brazil’s democracy.

Senator Bolsonaro, the ex-president’s eldest son, denied any wrongdoing, as well as any connection to Vorcaro’s fraud. In a social media post, he wrote that he was simply “a son seeking PRIVATE sponsorship for a PRIVATE film about his own father’s life”.

The right-wing Bolsonaro is a frontrunner in the race to unseat President Lula, who is running for a fourth, non-consecutive term.

But while polls in recent months have shown the two candidates neck and neck, a survey this week suggested Lula may be breaking ahead.

Roughly 49 percent of respondents to a CNT/MDA poll released on Tuesday said they would back Lula in a head-to-head contest with Bolsonaro. Only 36.8 percent said the same for the right-wing senator.

Seeking to shore up support, Senator Bolsonaro released on Thursday 12 points of priority for his government, should he be elected president.

They included building five new maximum security prisons, deploying extra forces to Brazil’s borders to stop irregular migration, and reducing the age of criminal responsibility from 18 to 16.

He also affirmed he would treat criminal networks as “terrorist” organisations, echoing a policy championed by United States President Donald Trump, a prominent international supporter of the Bolsonaro family.

“They will be hunted down with force and intelligence,” Bolsonaro said of criminal groups like Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital. “Any armed criminal carrying a rifle will be taken down by our security forces.”

Crime is expected to be a top issue in October’s race.