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RIO DE JANEIRO, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's House Ethics Committee approved on Tuesday the permanent suspension of former House speaker Eduardo Cunha from Congress, for allegedly lying about undeclared Swiss bank accounts.
The former House speaker, who was temporarily suspended from Congress for using his influence to interfere with investigations of him, insisted that there are "inconsistencies" in the process and vowed to appeal the decision to another congressional committee.
Tuesday's battle was a tight 11-9 vote in the 21-member committee.
In early 2015, Cunha publicly declared he did not have any money abroad, but months later Swiss authorities uncovered four accounts used by Cunha and his family, all undeclared to the Federal Revenues Secretariat and filled with millions of U.S. dollars.
The money is believed to come from hefty bribes reportedly taken by Cunha in the Petrobras corruption scheme. He was being investigated in the Carwash Operation, which was tackling the case.
Cunha's wife and daughter were also being investigated, as they benefited from the accounts, which were used to pay for expensive purchases in fancy shops abroad.
Cunha's case will now be submitted to the lower house of Congress for voting, where a simple majority will be required to depose him -- 257 out of 512 votes.
