BRASILIA: Brazil's tourism minister, Pedro Novais, resigned his post Wednesday amid allegations of graft, becoming the fourth minister in three months to quit the government after claims of corruption.
Novais, 81, stepped down after accusations he embezzled money, Communications Minister Helena Chagas said. He presented his resignation letter to President Dilma Rousseff.
The tourism minister's position became untenable after a national newspaper, the Folha de Sao Paulo, added to the allegations by reporting that Novais had been using public money to pay a personal assistant for the past seven years.
The daily on Wednesday followed up with a report saying Novais's wife used a legislative employee as her full-time chauffeur.
Novais denied Folha's allegation against him in a statement Tuesday, saying the assistant served as a secretary to him, not a domestic worker.
But the ex-minister also faces investigation for the alleged embezzlement of millions of dollars of tax-payers' money. Police have already arrested 38 people in connection to the probe.
Three other ministers have already gone under a cloud of suspicion of corruption: chief minister Antonio Palocci, transport minister Alfredo Nascimento and agriculture minister Wagner Rossi.
The departures have badly weakened the image of Rousseff and her government.
Another minister, Nelson Jobim, in charge of defense, was forced to resign in August not because of corruption charges but because he openly criticized other cabinet members.
Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011
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