Brazilian Police Arrest
32 On Corruption Charges
RIO DE JANEIRO -
Brazil's Federal Police
arrested on Tuesday at
least 32 people for
alleged corruption in
the country's land
reform agency and the
Internal Revenue
Service, local media
reported.
The arrested included
brokers and public
servants who worked at
the National Institute
of Colonization and Land
Reform (INCRA), which
regulates land reform
programs and properties
in rural areas, police
said.
The public servants have
deliberately hampered
the process of rural
property certification,
so as to force brokers
to pay bribes for
speeding it up.
In another case, brokers
were trying to obtain
secret data from
Brazil's Internal
Revenue Service. The
total bribes reached
30,000reais (18,750 U.S.
dollars) in both cases,
the police said.
The operation took place
in the states of Mato
Grosso, Mato Grosso do
Sul, Minas Gerais,
Parana and Sao Paulo.
Thirty-four arrest
warrants and 65 search
warrants have been
issued since the
investigation began in
2006, the police said.
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