Brazil police arrest former Parana governor

RIO DE JANEIRO: Brazilian police have arrested Beto Richa, former governor of Parana, as part of an investigation into wrongdoing involving a government program aimed at bolstering policing in rural areas of the state, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

A representative for Richa, who was running for the Senate in this year’s elections, said he was still waiting for guidance from Richa’s lawyers before commenting on the matter.

Separately, federal police said in a statement they were serving three arrest warrants in the state capital Curitiba, in the latest stage of the sweeping corruption investigation known as Operation Car Wash. Deonilson Roldo, Richa’s former chief of staff, was among those targeted by the operation, a police representative said, along with businessmen Theodacio Atherino and Tiago Correia Adriano Rocha.