Brazilian authorities are investigating a nephew of former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in connection with a money-laundering and influence-trafficking scheme, according to AP. Federal Police said in a Friday statement that investigators are looking into contracts signed by Odebrecht, Brazil's largest construction company, and Exergia Brasil, a small construction firm owned by Taiguara Rodrigues dos Santos. Dos Santos is the nephew of Silva's late first wife. The former president is not a target of this probe, but Attorney General Rodrigo Janot has filed charges at the Supreme Court saying that Silva tried to obstruct investigations into the massive corruption-kickback scheme at state-owned oil company Petrobras. According to the statement, Odebrecht received $464 million from Brazil's National Development bank to renovate a hydroelectric project in Angola. Of that amount, Odebrecht paid nearly $1 million to Exergia Brasil.
