(VOVworld) – On Saturday, Brazil’s Supreme Court allowed federal prosecutors to investigate 47 politicians, including the Senate President and the head of the Chamber of Deputies, as part of a widening corruption probe of Petróleo Brasileiro S.A., known as Petrobras.

(Photo: AP)

The corruption has been shaking Brazilian political arena for a year.

The names of suspected politicians were publicized on Friday including Senate President Renan Calheiros and Eduardo Cunha, head of the Chamber of Deputies, 12 parliamentarians, and 4 former ministers under the President Lula da Silva’s administration.

The case is causing more tension between the President Dilma Rousseff’s government and the country’s legislative body. Brazilian media have reported that President Rousseff s not being investigated despite serving as chairwoman of the Petrobras board for several years as the kickback scheme played out.

On Friday, Calheiros and Cunha rejected all the accusations.

According to the police, 4 billion USD were spent to corrupt a series of top politicians and Petrobras leaders. So far 39 people have been accused of corruption, money laundering, and blackmailing.