Brazil ex-president Collor sentenced to nearly 9 years

Then-Senator Fernando Collor de Mello, also a former Brazilian president, during a vote session on the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff in Brasilia, Brazil, May 11. Credit: Reuters Photo

Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced ex-president Fernando Collor de Mello Wednesday to eight years and 10 months in prison for corruption, part of the fallout from the country's sweeping "Car Wash" graft investigation.

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The high court convicted Collor, 73, who led Brazil from 1990 to 1992 before resigning to avoid impeachment, of taking 20 million reais ($4 million) in bribes as a senator from 2010 to 2014 to "irregularly" arrange contracts for a construction company with a subsidiary of state-run oil company Petrobras.