RIO DE JANEIRO/SAO PAULO —
Brazil's federal police began a new round raids on Thursday as part of their investigation into alleged embezzlement and graft at a division of state-controlled oil company Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
In a statement, the police said search and raid orders as well as detention orders were issued in the states of Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais. They gave no further details on the targets.
Federal prosecutors began investigating suspected corruption around Petrobras in April 2014 in an operation known as "Operation Car Wash.”
Police officers hold a news conference on the new phase of the Car Wash investigation, known as "Asphyxia," in the southern city of Curitiba later in the day.