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SÃO PAULO – Brazilian police arrested General Electric's chief in Latin America on Wednesday as part of an investigation into a group of companies accused of siphoning cash from health care contracts in Rio de Janeiro over the past two decades. Prosecutors accused Daurio Speranzini Jr. of participating in the deal when he was working for Philips Medical Systems before joining General Electric. A Rio de Janeiro court also issued arrest warrants against 21 other people as part of Operation Resonance, the latest in a spate of sprawling corruption polls that have trapped the high level of Brazilian business and politics.
Prosecutors said that search warrants had been issued for 44 addresses and that badets totaling $ 307 million had been frozen as part of the investigation. alleged cartel between 1996 and 2017.
They allege that the cartel was set up to fix the prices of medical equipment offers in the state of Rio and concerned at least 33 companies, although some of them are just shell companies, they added.
Philips said that she was cooperating with the authorities, adding that members of the company's current management were not part of the investigation.
In a statement Wednesday, General Electric said the allegations against his Latin American chef related to a period during which he was not working for the company, adding that GE was committed to "l & rsquo; Integrity, compliance and the rule of law. "
Speranzini could not be reached for comment.
Wednesday's proceedings come as Brazilian authorities investigate the ramifications of the country's vast "Car Wash" investigation, which has already sent many business and political figures to jail, including the government. former president
Luis Inácio Lula da Silva.
This week,
Eike Batista,
The richest man in Brazil was sentenced to 30 years in prison after being found guilty of bribing the former governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro. Mr. Batista's attorney stated that he was planning to appeal the conviction.
Write to Samantha Pearson at [email protected]
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