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Rio de Janeiro Mayor Marcelo Crivella is being escorted by police after his arrest on Tuesday.
The mayor of the Brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro, Marcelo Crivella, has been arrested on suspicion of being involved in a corruption scandal.
The judge in charge of the investigation describes Crivella as “the leader of a criminal organization” who worked from within the mayor’s office.
Crivella has been placed under house arrest after being subjected to a first questioning.
The arrest occurred just over a week away from Crivella’s term. He was backed by radical right-wing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro in last week’s local elections, but largely lost to challenger Eduardo Paes.
In the operation, several other people have also been arrested, including businessman Rafael Alves, brother of the head of the municipal tourism agency Riotur.
According to the investigation, several companies that wanted to secure contracts with Riotur have paid bribes to Rafael Alves. In total, those involved must have received at least 50 million reais, which corresponds to around 80 million SEK.
