Brazil former presidents lula and rousseff charged in corruption case

Former Presidents of Brazil Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff talk during the 6th National Congress of the Labour Party at Sede Nacional do PT on June 01, 2017 in Brasilia, Brazil. Brazil

Photo Press | CON | Getty Images Brazil's top prosecutor on Tuesday charged former Presidents Luis Inacio Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff along with fellow Workers Party members with

forming a criminal organization, the latest accusations in Brazil's sprawling corruption scandal. The prosecutor, Rodrigo Janot, alleged that eight members of the Workers Party,

including Lula and Rousseff, committed a series of crimes involving state-owned oil firm such as cartel formation, corruption and money laundering. They were the first criminal charges to be

leveled against Rousseff, who was impeached in 2016 for breaking budgetary laws. The 230-page document filed with the Supreme Court accused Lula of heading the organization. Lula's

lawyer said the law was being misused to persecute the former president. Brazil's former president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) walks with President Dilma Rousseff as he is sworn in

as the new chief of staff in the Planalto Palace on March 17, 2016 in Brasilia, Brazil. Igo Estrela | Stringer | Getty Images The Workers Party said in a statement that the charges were

baseless and being used to divert attention from other investigations, including one into a former federal prosecutor, referring to a case Janot announced on Monday. A representative for

Rousseff said the prosecutor's office had offered no evidence of the crimes and called on the Supreme Court to guarantee the right to defend against them. Lula, who is still

Brazil's most popular politician, is appealing a corruption conviction that would bar him from running for president in 2018. He faces four other corruption trials. The charges stem

from the Operation Car Wash investigation that uncovered a cartel of companies paying bribes to officials to secure Petrobras contracts, revelations that have spawned a host of

investigations that has shaken Brazil's political system and economy. Follow CNBC International on Twitter and Facebook.