Collor de Mello, Brazil’s first democratically elected president, was forced to resign in 1992, halfway through his term, after congress launched impeachment proceedings against him for allegedly taking bribes.

The 75-year-old was arrested in the northeast of the country, according to a police source speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.

A court on Thursday rejected his efforts to have the arrest order annulled.

Prosecutors allege the funds were received to “irregularly facilitate contracts” between a construction company and a former subsidiary of the Brazilian state oil company Petrobras.

Collor de Mello is not Brazil’s first president to run afoul of the law.

Four of the seven presidents who have led the country since the 1964-1985 military dictatorship have either been convicted, jailed or impeached.

In the latest case, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro has been ordered to stand trial over an alleged coup plot after losing the 2022 election.

rsr-tmo/arb/md

© Agence France-Presse