Brazilian police Thursday arrested Guido Mantega, a former finance minister under presidents Lula da Silva and Dilma Rousseff, as part of the investigation into the vast Petrobras corruption scheme, media reported.

Mantega, who was an important figure in the leftist Workers' Party, was arrested at a Sao Paulo hospital where his wife had undergone surgery, his lawyer Jose Roberto Batochio told the G1 online news outlet. The arrest also was reported by Folha group's UOL site.