By Luciana Magalhaes 

SÃO PAULO -- The wife of prominent Brazilian politician Eduardo Cunha was indicted on corruption-related charges on Thursday, as part of the country's far-reaching "Operation Car Wash" graft probe.

According to prosecutors, Cláudia Cruz was aware of and benefited directly from crimes of corruption allegedly committed by her husband, the suspended speaker of Brazil's lower house of Congress, who was indicted in March. Both are accused of money laundering and other crimes. Neither of the two has been incarcerated.

Ms. Cruz's lawyer, Pierpaolo Bottini, said his client had no knowledge of her husband's alleged criminal acts and doesn't believe they occurred. Mr. Cunha has denied wrongdoing.

Prosecutors said Ms. Cruz solely controlled a Swiss bank account in the name of a Swiss company, which was used to cover more than $1 million in credit-card expenses between 2008 and 2014.

Ms. Cruz allegedly used money deposited in the offshore account to pay for designer products, such as expensive handbags, shoes and clothing. She also used some of that money to pay for schooling of the couple's children, prosecutors said.

According to Brazilian authorities, part of a bribe allegedly received by Mr. Cunha in connection with a 2011 African oil contract of Brazilian state energy company Petróleo Brasileiro SA was deposited into the offshore account controlled by Ms. Cruz.

Mr. Cunha is accused of accepting some $5 million in bribes uncovered by the Car Wash corruption investigation, which centers on kickbacks and bribes surrounding Petrobras.

The suspended house speaker is a powerful conservative politician and spearheaded the drive to impeach populist President Dilma Rousseff, who last month was suspended from office for up to 180 days to face a Senate trial for allegedly violating budget laws, allegations she denies.

After Ms. Rousseff's removal from office, Brazil's Supreme Court forced Mr. Cunha out from his position as head of the lower house of Congress, but not from his seat in the legislature. The lower chamber's ethics committee is currently deciding whether or not he should keep his seat.

Mr. Cunha is expected to be tried by the Supreme Court, the only body that can prosecute sitting politicians in Brazil. But his wife, who doesn't hold elected office, will have her fate decided by Judge Sergio Moro, who is overseeing the main part of the Car Wash investigation and who is feared because of the tough sentences he has been handing down.

Scores of Brazilian politicians and businessmen have been snared by the corruption investigation. Many of those individuals have confessed or been convicted and jailed, while others are facing trial or are plea-bargaining.

Write to Luciana Magalhaes at Luciana.Magalhaes@dowjones.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 09, 2016 16:04 ET (20:04 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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