The former partner of Sydney businesswoman Cecilia Haddad, whose body was found floating in a river 10 weeks ago, has been charged with her murder in Brazil.
Mario Marcelo Santoro fled to his native Rio De Janeiro the same April weekend Ms Haddad's fully clothed body was found in Lane Cove River by kayakers.
Santoro, 40, was arrested at a relative's home by Brazilian police at the weekend and charged with the 38-year-old's murder on Tuesday.
A statement by Rio De Janeiro's Civil Police revealed its homicide squad was pursuing Santoro for the crime of "femicide" after he allegedly choked Ms Haddad to death between April 28 and 29.
Santoro will now be transferred to a Brazilian prison to await a court date.
Mario Marcelo Santoro was arrested in Brazil. Source: SBS News
The charges come weeks after NSW Police issued an arrest warrant that was escalated to an InterPol red notice, which would have led to Santoro being detained if he tried to leave Brazil.
Australian detectives are awaiting the result of negotiations between the two nations before flying to Brazil to present their massive brief of evidence.
Rio's Civil Police, in the weekend's statement, said they had requested the findings made by Australian detectives during NSW Police's investigation but had yet to receive a response.
AAP understands the reams of forensic evidence, interviews and investigations are being translated to Portuguese in preparation for a handover to Brazil's courts.
Before that can happen, and before Australian police can fly to Rio to assist in the case, the two national governments must reach an agreement.
The lengthy legal process is the result of a Brazilian constitutional provision that no citizens can be extradited to face foreign charges.
However, Santoro holds an Italian passport so a plan to have him stripped of his Brazilian citizenship to circumvent that law is understood to be a subject of negotiations.
Those discussions are still ongoing, a NSW Police spokeswoman told AAP on Tuesday.
