Brazilian police arrest former president Temer

Brazil's federal police arrested former president Michel Temer (pictured) on Thursday as part of the massive corruption probe known as Lava Jato.

Temer was arrested in São Paulo and is being taken to Rio de Janeiro, where the lower court judge that ordered the arrest is based, a police spokesman told BNamericas.

Temer's arrest is linked to alleged wrongdoings in contracts with construction company Engevix in the building of nuclear power plant Angra III, said the spokesperson.

José Antunes Sobrinho, owner of Engevix, said in a plea bargain deal with authorities that he paid a bribe of 1.1mn reais (US$289,473) to a political group led by Temer to obtain the Angra III contract.

Moreira Franco, former energy minister and a close ally of Temer, was also arrested.

The arrest of Temer did not come as a major surprise since he was under investigation by the authorities regarding alleged corruption schemes.

A former vice president, Temer became president in mid-2016 as a result of the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff.

Last year saw former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva arrested and later sentenced on corruption charges.

Launched in 2014, the Lava Jato probe has centered on wrongdoings involving contracts of major construction companies with state-run oil firm Petrobras. Since then, the probe has spread to several other business sectors.