Gabriela Guerreiro
Reporter Agência Brasil
Brasília - On Monday president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met with the ministers of Justice, Márcio Thomaz Bastos, and the (minister) General Controller of the Union (Controladoria Geral da União), Waldir Pires. The ministers presented the president with a report on what is being done to combat corruption in the country.
According to Bastos, corruption combat is a continuous process in the Lula administration that did not begin with charges of corruption in the Post Office (Correios). He cited the 2003 ruling on mandatory reporting of all bank withdrawals of more than US$41,900 (R$100,000) to the Financial Activities Control Council (Coaf).
He also pointed out that the Federal Police are running at least three investigations into the recent charges of corruption. One of the investigations is in Rio de Janeiro at the state-run reinsurance company (IRB), another is in Brasilia at the Post Office, and a third is concentrated in Minas Gerais looking into accusations involving the adman, Marcos Valerio de Souza.
Bastos said that in all three cases the police were moving ahead cautiously and calmly, so no mistakes would be made.
Translator: Allen Bennett