'Lava Jato' probe widens with new arrest

Brazilian prosecutors announced the arrest of a partner at construction firm Engevix on Monday as part of a new phase of the 'Lava Jato' corruption investigation that is looking into contracts at nuclear company Eletronuclear.

José Antunes Sobrinho is charged with bribing officials at the unit of electric utility Eletrobrás in order to win contracts, said federal prosecutor Carlos Fernando dos Santos Lima.

Officials are also investigating Engevix contracts with the international division of Petrobras, the national oil company at the heart of the Lava Jato scandal. Major construction firms such as Odebrecht are dealing with the fallout of the investigation.

After uncovering overbilling in contracts with national oil company Petrobras, prosecutors started looking into contracts at the nuclear power company, a subsidiary of Eletrobras, specifically with regard to contracts for nuclear plant Angra 3.

In July, Eletronuclear CEO Othon Luis Pinheiro da Silva (pictured) was arrested for allegedly accepting bribes in exchange for contracts relating to the nuclear plant.