A Brazilian judge on Tuesday accepted charges against former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva [BBC profile] after the Petrobas Oil Scandal [NYT report]. Judge Sergio Moro allowed charges that include complaints that da Silva illegally received almost USD $1.1 million in improvements and expenses from a construction company for a beachfront apartment. In return, it is reported, da Silva secured lucrative contracts from Petrobas for the construction company. Corruption charges were filed [NYT report] against da Silva in March when prosecutors accused him of attempting to hide the property. Da Silva has also been charged for obstructing the investigation of the graft scheme around Petrobas.

More than 100 individuals and 50 politicians have been arrested in connection to the Petrobras scandal, including the chief of staff under Brazil’s former President Jose Dirceu and the former president Fernando Collor de Mellon. Last November Brazil’s highest court ordered [JURIST report] the arrest of André Esteves, the chief executive of the country’s largest investment bank, and that of Delcídio do Amaral, a powerful senator of the country’s ruling party, both accused of bribery and corruption affiliated with Petrobras.