Brazil's ruling Workers Party chief, Jose Genoino, resigned Saturday to become a third senior party official removed from his post amid a corruption scandal.

The Sao Paulo-based party said in a communique that Genoino quit prior to a meeting in which party leaders would examine the corruption accusations against him on Saturday and Sunday.

For the past week, Brazilian media have accused him of bribing lawmakers, citing irregular payments each month to legislators of allied parties in return for continued backing to the government.

The resignation was also prompted by Friday's arrest of an aide to his brother Jose Guimaraes at the Sao Paulo Airport.

Police said the arrested, Vieira da Silva, did not explain the origin of the 85,000 US dollars worth of local currency in his briefcase and 100,000 dollars in his underwear. Both Guimaraes and his aide are party officials.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is managing to revamp the party's image before the elections slated for October 2006.

Before Genoino, Secretary General Silvio Pereira and Treasurer Delubio Soares of the party had already stepped down on suspicion of corruption involvement.

Source: Xinhua