Ex-minister arrested in graft probe

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June 7, 2017 12:05 AM

Brazilian newspapers said ex-minister Henrique Eduardo Alves was arrested as part of an investigation into bribery.

Brazilian former tourism minister Henrique Eduardo Alves (R) is seen with former President Dilma Rousseff in 2013

Police in Brazil arrested the countrys former tourism minister Tuesday in a probe over alleged corruption linked to one of its 2014 World Cup football stadiums, media reports said.

Brazilian newspapers said ex-minister Henrique Eduardo Alves was arrested as part of an investigation into bribery and money-laundering in the building of the Arena das Dunas stadium in the northeastern city of Natal.

A police source told AFP that anti-corruption raids were taking place in the south of the country but did not confirm reports that Alves was one of those arrested.

A police statement about the operation said the stadium construction project had been inflated by some $35 million.

Alves served briefly in the government of President Michel Temer last year, but quit after a month after being implicated in a corruption scandal, as countless top Brazilian politicians have been.

Temer himself risks facing trial over other corruption allegations.

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