The Brazilian Prosecutor's Office on Monday presented a new complaint against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the alleged laundering of bribes paid by the Odebrecht group, in a case related to the anti-corruption operation Lava Jato, for which the former president has already been convicted twice.

The Federal Public Ministry also included in the complaint the former Minister of Finance Antonio Palocci, one of the most influential men in the Lula governments (2003-2010) and the president of the Lula Institute, Paulo Okamotto.

All three are accused of a money laundering crime through the Lula Institute, which has already been the subject of other investigations in other corruption cases.

The Prosecutor's Office pointed out that it found indications of the payment of bribes by Odebrecht that reached the value of four million reais (about $ 760,000) between "December 2013 and March 2014", when Lula had already left power.

According to the investigation, this amount was disguised "in the form of a philanthropic donation" for the Lula Institute for the supposed benefit of the leader of the Workers' Party (PT).

"The illicit securities were transferred through four simulated donation operations carried out by the Odebrecht group in favor of the Lula Institute, each with a value of one million reais" ($ 190,000), the Public Ministry indicated in the note.

These illegal commissions by Odebrecht had their origin, the investigators maintain, in the deviations that occurred within the state oil company Petrobras, and followed the same modus operandi as in other similar cases already tried in the first and second instance.

Prosecutor Alessandro Oliveira stressed that the complaint is accompanied by a "broad set of evidence" that, according to him, substantiates the charges made.

Lula, 74, who claims to suffer judicial "persecution", has been convicted twice for corruption and money laundering in processes related to Lava Jato, although he is currently responding at liberty after having spent a year and seven months in jail.

The first sentence, of 8 years and 10 months in prison, of which he already served 19 months, has been ratified in the third instance and the analysis of the Supreme Court is still missing for it to be final.

The second was ratified by a second instance court that increased the sentence to 17 years and 1 month in prison.

In addition, it responds to several processes for similar cases also related to the anti-corruption operation Lava Jato, which since 2014 has been investigating deviations at Petrobras and has imprisoned numerous politicians and businessmen in Brazil.

However, the Lava Jato prosecutors are now living their most delicate moment, surrounded by criticisms that come both within and outside the Public Ministry and who accuse the operation of a lack of transparency and of having a political bias.

Although after several days of uncertainty, the Office of the Attorney General of the Republic extended the work of Lava Jato until January 2021.

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