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Corruption

Brazil police arrest presidential aide in World Cup probe

By Fox News
Published | Updated
brazil filipelli

Tadeu Filippelli arrives at the Federal Police headquarter after he was arrested in Brasilia on May 23, 2017. (Reuters)

Brazilian police arrested a presidential aide and two ex-governors as part of an investigation into the 2014 World Cup's most expensive stadium, another black eye for the country's political establishment that adds pressure on beleaguered President Michel Temer.

Brazil's federal police said the construction works were overpriced by more than $260 million.

Tadeu Filippelli, a special adviser in Temer's cabinet, and former governors José Roberto Arruda and Agnelo Queiroz were arrested early on Tuesday.

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Filippelli is one of the five special aides to the president. Four of those aides now have been linked to corruption scandals. Only two remain in their positions.

Renovation of the Brasilia stadium for the 2014 World Cup cost about 1.5 billion reais ($459.38 million), prosecutors and police said in a statement, and an auditing court has said the construction included rampant overbilling.

It was the second-most expensive soccer arena in the world after the reconstruction of Wembley Stadium in London, according to the local World Cup committee's documents on spending.

BRAZIL'S EX-LEADER SILVA FACES CORRUPTION JUDGE FOR 1ST TIME

Temer has resisted growing calls for his resignation after the disclosure of a recorded conversation in which he appears to condone the payment of hush money to a jailed lawmaker in a separate corruption probe.

That investigation is related to a sprawling probe into bribery and kickbacks at state oil company Petrobras that helped topple former President Dilma Rousseff last year and has sent dozens of senior politicians and business to jail.

Suspicions that many of the 12 stadiums built or renovated for the 2014 World Cup were overpriced led to street protests before and during the tournament.

rasilia does not have any soccer team in the first division of the national league so the 72,800-seat stadium is almost never filled even when games are played there.

Reuters and AP contributed to this report.