Former Brazilian President Fernando Collor de Mello was arrested on Friday, according to a federal police source speaking to AFP, following a high court’s decision to uphold his nearly nine-year sentence for corruption and money laundering.
Collor de Mello, Brazil’s first democratically elected president, was compelled to resign in 1992, midway through his term, after Congress initiated impeachment proceedings against him for alleged bribery.
The 75-year-old was apprehended in the northeastern region of Brazil, as confirmed by a police source who requested anonymity.
A court had previously dismissed his attempts to overturn the arrest warrant on Thursday.
Prosecutors allege that Collor de Mello received funds to “irregularly facilitate contracts” between a construction company and a former subsidiary of the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.
Collor de Mello is not the only Brazilian president to face legal consequences.
Since the end of the military dictatorship (1964-1985), four out of seven presidents have been convicted, imprisoned, or impeached.
Most recently, far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial for allegedly plotting a coup after his defeat in the 2022 election.
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