Yesterday (August 20), former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello was charged with involvement in a large-scale corruption scandal at the Brazilian national oil corporation Petrobras.

FormerBrazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello has just been formally charged with corruption by the Supreme Court - Photo: Reuters

According to AFP, the Supreme Court confirmed that Mr. Collor's crimes had been formally accused, but did not provide specific details of these accusations.

Along with former president Collor, Brazilian prosecutors also charged House speaker Eduardo Cunha with accepting at least $5 million in bribes as part of a massive corruption ring at the state oil company Petrobras.

According to prosecutor general Rodrigo Janot, it was a "kickback" that spokesman Cunha received in contracts related to the construction of two exploration vessels for Petrobras.

Fernando Collor de Mello is a former president of Brazil who left office in 1992 amid another corruption scandal, then returned to politics as a senator.

The investigation into corruption at Brazil's Petrobras has implicated a range of politicians, but Mr Cunha and Mr Collor are the two most prominent figures.

According to TTO