Brazilian audit court rules that Rousseff broke the law

A Brazilian audit Federal Accounts Court has ruled that President Dilma Rousseff broke the law in managing last year’s budget, as their investigation revealed that the government borrowed money illegally from state banks to make up for budget shortfalls. The Minister who handled the case in the Accounts Court, Augusto Nardes, stated the government disregarded fiscal and constitutional principles in the handling of the 2014 accounts. The irregularities amount to more than £17bn , 100bn reais , $26bn according to the Audit Court.

 The Brazilian government expects to challenge this ruling in the Supreme Court.

However, the opposition says this ruling by FAC which reports to congress paves way for impeachment proceedings against Ms Rousseff, who was re-elected less than a year ago and has low popularity ratings at present.

If the decision is upheld by the Supreme Court, the government’s accounts will then be assessed by the Congress, where Ms Rousseff’s coalition has a majority.

The Brazilian economy has gone into recession and is expected to shrink by 3 per cent this year.