RIO DE JANEIRO, May 28 (Xinhua) -- Brazil's embattled President Michel Temer on Sunday announced he was replacing his Justice Minister, a key post that oversees the country's judicial branch as myriad corruption probes target top government officials, including the head of state.
A statement from the president's office said Torquato Jardim will fill the post, with the outgoing Osmar Serraglio occupying the Ministry of Transparency that Jardim is vacating.
Serraglio, a member of the main ruling PMDB party, has been implicated in one of the investigations, Operation Weak Flesh, which has uncovered graft in Brazil's multi-billion-dollar meatpacking industry, where exporters have been bribing officials to overlook violations.
In a phone conversation that was intercepted by the Federal Police -- one of the branches under the Justice Ministry's supervision -- a suspect can be head referring to Serraglio as the "big boss."
In recent days, four parties allied with the PMDB-led government have abandoned the ruling coalition, following revelations that meatpacking giant JBS has been paying bribes to the party and Temer since 2010.
