Former Trump Hotel Partner Charged in Brazil Olympic Bribery Case
Former Trump Hotel Partner Charged in Brazil Olympic Bribery Case
By ERNESTO LONDOÑO
OCT. 18, 2017
RIO DE JANEIRO — Federal prosecutors in Brazil on Wednesday charged a Brazilian partner in the former Trump Hotel Rio de Janeiro with paying bribes to propel the city’s bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games.
The businessman, Arthur César de Menezes Soares Filho, is a fugitive in the United States, according to Brazilian prosecutors. They expressed frustration over what they characterized as Washington’s reluctance to help in the investigation, contending that American officials did not extradite him, freeze his bank accounts or search his Miami residence as part of an international attempt to bring him to justice.
The 157-page criminal complaint made public on Wednesday charts what prosecutors called a “win-win” kickback scheme masterminded by a powerful trio: the former Rio de Janeiro governor, Sérgio Cabral; the recently-ousted head of Brazil’s Olympic Committee, Carlos Arthur Nuzman; and Mr. Soares, who ran several companies that were awarded multimillion government contracts.
The complaint does not suggest that anyone in the Trump Organization was involved in, or aware of, the kickback scheme. The Trump Organization pulled out of the project last December, soon after the hotel came under scrutiny in a separate criminal investigation involving investments by public pension fund managers.
More:
https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/world/americas/former-trump-hotel-partner-charged-in-brazil-olympic-bribery-case.html
LBN:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/10141892889
