Former Rio governor charged with money laundering

Rio de Janeiro, Feb 15: A Brazilian court has accepted a formal charge of 184 accounts of money laundering against former Rio de Janeiro governor Sergio Cabral.

Cabral has been in prison since November 2016 when he was arrested for another accusation. This is now his fourth indictment for corruption-related crimes.

In Tuesday's statement from the court, Cabral is accused of laundering 39 million reais ($12.6 million), Xinhua news agency reported.

Ten others were also denounced for participating in the governor's money laundering scheme, including Cabral's wife Adriana Ancelmo.

Last year, a police investigation found that Ancelmo's jewelry collection alone amounted to over 6.5 million reais ($2.1 million) and that most of the pieces had not been included in the couple's financial statements.

Cabral is accused of making a fortune out of embezzlement and bribes in exchange for favouring companies in many construction projects for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games here.

As the governor suddenly grew rich, the state was drowning in debt.

Cabral's disastrous administration is widely regarded as the main reason why Rio de Janeiro had to declare a state of financial emergency in 2016.

Cabral's scheme is believed to have taken over 310 million reais ($100.4 million) from the state's coffers, according to judicial authorities.