Brazil's science minister charged with corruption

Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Gilberto Kassab is the target of a corruption investigation, federal police said on Wednesday.

The announcement came as police searched his home for evidence that Kassab and the Social Democratic Party (PSD) he helped found received bribes from meatpacking company JBS, which has been investigated for paying off government officials.

JBS executives Wesley Batista and Ricardo Saud, who offered evidence in exchange for leniency, told prosecutors they bribed Kassab to get beneficial policies for the company, when the minister was mayor of Sao Paulo, according to Chief Federal Prosecutor Raquel Dodge.

The bribes continued when he joined the cabinet, said prosecutors, with Kassab receiving a total of 14.9 million U.S. dollars from 2010 to 2016 for himself and his party.

Kassab has denied any wrongdoing.

"Over these years in public life, there is nothing that compromises me in the area of immorality. I am tranquil because I have always respected the principles of ethics. I am at the prosecution and the judiciary's disposal," Kassab said.

At the end of the year, Kassab will leave the science ministry to become chief of staff to the incoming governor of Sao Paulo, Joao Doria.