Brazilian politicians to be investigated over Petrogas scandal

Brazil's Supreme Court has approved the investigation of several politicians into their alleged involvement in a kickback scheme at the state-run oil firm Petrobras.

Investigators have claimed that private firms paid kickbacks to corrupt officials in return for lucrative Petrobras contracts.

Under Brazilian law, politicians can only be tried by the Supreme Court.

Brazili’s Attorney General Rodrigo Janot has accused several senior politicians of accepting bribes, including Senate President Renan Calheiros, Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Eduardo Cunha, former Energy Minister Edison Lobao, and former President Collor de Mello.

Most of the politicians under investigation belong to the governing coalition. However, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has already been completely cleared of any involvement in the kickback scheme, Roussef chaired the Petrobas board for seven years, when most of the alleged corruption took place.

The treasurer of the ruling Workers’ Party, Joao Vaccari Neto, was questioned over the kickback scheme last months before being released. The investigation followed an accusation by a former Petrobras executive that Neto had transferred money from the oil company into the coffers of the party and its allies. The Workers’ Party have strongly denied these accusations.

In December, prosecutors charged executives from six of the country's largest construction firms for allegedly channelling kickbacks into a Petrobras scheme to pay politicians.

Petrobas, one of the largest oil businesses in the world, ahs been rocked by this scandal and its market value has plummeted since September.