Brazil's Supreme Federal Tribunal decided Monday to charge 12 political allies of President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, who are involved in a bribes-for-votes scandal exposed in 2005.
They include four members of the Progressive Party, four from the Republican Party, three members and one former minister from the Brazilian Labor Party (PTB) and one from the Brazil Democracy Movement Party.
They are charged with accepting money from da Silva's Labor Party to back the president's bills in the nation's legislature, the Congress.
Roberto Jefferson, former PTB leader who revealed the scandal, and former Transport Minister Anderson Adauto are among those charged.
With Monday's decision, the court has endorsed charges against 34 of the 40 defendants investigated by Brazil's Attorney General, Antonio Fernando de Souza.
The judges have yet to decide on the thorniest part of the problem -- whether to prosecute Jose Dirceu, former cabinet chief of staff, who was forced to resign after news of the scandal broke. Dirceu is accused of being the mastermind of the bribery scheme.
Source: Xinhua
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