RIO DE JANEIRO, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian Federal Police found on Tuesday over 40 million reals (13 million U.S. dollars) in cash in an apartment believed to belong to former Minister Geddel Vieira Lima.
It is the largest seizure of cash the Federal Police have ever made. Seven money counting machines worked non-stop for the entire day to count the sum found in the apartment in Lima's hometown Salvador.
The money was found in 100- and 50-real bills, filling several large suitcases and boxes. Police believed the money was related to several corruption schemes in which Lima has been involved. He has been under house arrest for several months.
Lima is a member of the ruling Brazilian Democratic Movement Party (PMDB). He served as government secretary of President Michel Temer for six months, and left the administration in November 2016 after a scandal of influence peddling.
Lima reportedly tried to coerce former Minister of Culture Marcelo Calero into authorizing a real estate project owned by his family, which was barred by the Historical Patrimony Institute (Iphan) for affecting historical heritage sites.
Before that, during the previous administration of Dilma Rousseff, Lima served as a high-ranking official of state-owned bank Caixa from 2011 to 2013. At the time, PMDB was still the main allied party in Rousseff's coalition, but later turned against her and became one of the main forces behind Rousseff's impeachment.
