CURITIBA — Brazilian prosecutors charged former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Wednesday with being the "boss" of a corruption scheme at state oil firm Petrobras, in a major blow to the leftist hero’s hopes of a political comeback.It was the first time Da Silva (known as Lula) — still Brazil’s most popular politician despite corruption accusations against him and his Workers Party — was charged by federal prosecutors for involvement in the political kickbacks scheme at Petroleo Brasileiro, as the company is officially known.Public Prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol told a news conference that Lula will be charged with corruption and money laundering for leading a kickback scheme that caused an estimated 42-billion reais ($12.5bn) in losses to Petrobras shareholders and taxpayers."He was the conductor of this criminal orchestra," Dallagnol said during a presentation of the investigation."The Petrobras graft scheme aimed at keeping the Workers Party in power by criminal means."Lula’s...

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