Brazil police seek charges for alleged World Cup stadium graft

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Federal Police have called for the indictment of 21 people, including two ex-governors of the capital Brasilia, for allegedly overcharging 559 million reais (138.04 million pounds) in the renovation of the stadium used in the 2014 World Cup.





The Mane Garrincha stadium in Brasilia was originally scheduled to cost around 600 million reais but ended up costing closer to 1.575 billion, officials said.

It was built by a consortium led by construction firm Andrade Gutierrez. The investigation into the overbilling began after the firm's executives entered into a plea-bargain deal to offer details about their role in long-running and massive political kickback schemes that have been uncovered by investigators in the past three years.

It is now up to federal prosecutors to decide whether to press charges, ask for more information or drop the case.

The 69,000-capacity stadium hosted seven games in the 2014 World Cup and several others in the 2016 Olympic soccer tournament.

Former governors Agnelo Queiroz and Jose Roberto Arruda, were among those accused of "criminal overbilling" in Friday's almost 350-page police report, as was a former special advisor to Brazilian President Michel Temer.





(Reporting by Ricardo Brito; Writing by Andrew Downie; Editing by Sandra Maler)


Share

1 min read

Published

Source: Reuters



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world
Brazil police seek charges for alleged World Cup stadium graft | SBS News