Brazil’s federal police announced on Thursday that they are shutting down the primary task force assigned to a mammoth corruption investigation, drawing criticism from prosecutors who said it would undermine the probe.
Officers from the task force based in the southeastern city of Curitiba will be folded into an already existing division that investigates corruption, federal police announced.
The move has important symbolic significance since the investigation has been led by the task force, along with prosecutors and judges in Curitiba. Coming just months after a reduction in the size of the task force, the elimination of the dedicated group of investigators has again raised concerns that authorities are trying to stifle the probe.
The decision means the officers will no longer focus exclusively on Car Wash cases. Prosecutors assigned to the probe called it “an obvious step backward”, saying investigators were already struggling to keep up with the workload.