Brazil’s ex-president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has appeared in court to answer fresh corruption charges. <br /><br />It’s his second deposition in two weeks and comes shortly after his former finance minister Antonio Palocci reportedly told prosecutors that Lula took bribes from Brazilian construction firm, Odebrecht.<br /><br />Lawyers for Palocci said he told prosecutors that Lula accepted Odebrecht’s purchase of land for an institute in his name, a country house in Sao Paulo state and 300 million reais ($97 million) to be used after he left office.<br /><br />A representative for Lula said in a statement that Palocci, who was arrested a year ago in a corruption investigation, was lying and making accusations without evidence to secure a favourable deal with prosecutors to reduce his sentence.<br /><br />Lula desmonta mentiras de delatores e aponta falta de provas em denúncia sobre terreno https://t.co/E6dwawSnQB pic.twitter.com/sIq4s5vfLJ— Lula pelo Brasil (@LulapeloBrasil) September 13, 2017<br /><br />Lula faces four other corruption trials but remains Brazil’s most popular politician. He is also appealing a corruption conviction that would bar him from running for president in 2018. <br /><br />His appearance in court came on a day dubbed “Super Wednesday” by local media because of a dizzying array of graft scandals that have implicated top politicians. The marqee event of the day was the arrest of <br />Wesley Batista, the chief executive of JBS SA, the world’s No. 1 meatpacker. He’s accused of insider trading and faces being the first person in the country to be jailed for such a crime.<br />
