RIO DE JANEIRO, March 28 (Xinhua) -- One week after being arrested in a corruption investigation, Brazil's former President Michel Temer was indicted on Thursday for corruption in a second case.
Temer, who was released from jail from the first case on Monday, is being accused of taking a bribe of 500,000 reals (127,877 U.S. dollars) from meatpacker giant JBS.
The case first came up in 2017 when Temer was still the president. However, as president, he could only be judged by the Congress, and the House decided not to take the case, which was suspended for the duration of his government. When Temer left office in December, the case was reopened.
Temer was recorded in a conversation with Joesley Batista, head of JBS, discussing corruption. Batista himself made the recording, and turned over it in exchange for leniency.
After the conversation, Rodrigo Rocha Loures, a former advisor of Temer named in the recording, was caught on film accepting a suitcase containing 500,000 reals (127,877 dollars) in cash, reportedly in Temer's name. Temer has always denied involvement in the case.
Temer's defense said in a statement that the charges are "devoid of any basis and constitute an adventure in accusations which will be short-lived."
