Brazil’s ex-president Temer arrested

Brazil’s ex-president Michel Temer was arrested Thursday, becoming the latest former leader of the Latin American country caught up in a sprawling anti-corruption probe that has already claimed dozens of political and corporate scalps.

Police arrested Temer, the 78-year-old predecessor of current far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, in Sao Paulo, a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office in Rio de Janeiro told AFP.

Former mines and energy minister Moreira Franco was also detained along with six others, including business people, Brazilian news site G1 reported.

Temer, Brazil’s most unpopular leader ever, faced several corruption accusations on leaving office last year.

He escaped action over two of the allegations in 2017 when Brazil’s Congress voted to dismiss them, cementing his reputation as the ultimate survivor in one of the world’s messiest and scandal-ridden democracies.

But the third accusation was filed days before Bolsonaro’s mandate started on January 1, leaving Congress with no time to evaluate the charge.