Paulo Maluf, a prominent Brazilian politician, and four others were indicted on Thursday in New York on charges of stealing more than $11.6m from a Brazilian highway project.

A grand jury also charged Mr Maluf, his son and three others with participating in a kickback scheme while mayor of São Paulo that may have added as much as $400m to the $200m price tag for building a highway known as Avenida Agua Espraiada between 1993-1997.