President Dilma Rousseff (Brazil)
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has dismissed several senior government officials because of allegations of corruption. REUTERS

Several senior officials in Brazil have been dismissed by President Dilma Rousseff following allegations of corruption.

Rosemary de Noronha, the head of the presidency's regional office Sao Paulo, and Jose Weber Holanda, deputy attorney general, were among the officials removed from their posts, BBC News reported. None of the former officials have yet commented on the situation, the news agency said.

The dismissals follow the arrest of six people Friday in connection with a scheme involving the selling of business permits for cash bribes in Sao Paolo, BBC News reported.

Police alleged two of those arrested, brothers Paulo and Rubens Vieira, had been recommended for government posts by Noronha and are accused of orchestrating the scheme, the news agency said.

This latest corruption scandal comes around the same time several other government officials are being sentenced in relation to a different one, called Mensalao, or Big Monthly Allowance.

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