Dozens of Brazilian politicians targeted in corruption probe

April 12 (UPI) -- Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, or STF, released a list of dozens of politicians expected to be investigated in the multinational Odebrecht corruption scandal.

Justice Edson Fachin released the list of politicians, which includes nearly a third of President Michel Temer's Cabinet and Eduardo Paes, the mayor of Rio de Janeiro during the 2016 Olympics. The list also names Temer's chief of staff, Eliseu Padilha.

The court said Fachin collaborated as part of a plea bargain with former Odebrecht CEO Marcelo Odebrecht and 76 other Odebrecht executives to acquire the names of politicians who allegedly conspired with Odebrecht -- the largest construction conglomerate in Latin America.

Fachin gave Brazil's federal prosecutor permission to investigate the current and former officials, including nine members of Temer's Cabinet and 71 members of Congress.

Odebrecht is accused of paying millions in bribes to dozens of politicians in numerous countries to acquire lucrative contracts. The company has admitted to paying about $1 billion in bribes overall. The list also names candidates who said they would run for Brazil's 2018 presidential election, including Aecio Neves and Jose Serra.

In Brazil, prosecutors said much of the corrupt activity to acquire contracts operated through Petrobras, a semi-public oil and gas company. Odebrecht officials said they had to set up a special department to operate the finances involved in the bribery scheme because it was so massive.