Brazil environment minister quits; faces illegal logging probe

FILE PHOTO: Brazil's Environment Minister Ricardo Salles speaks during a news conference after a virtual global climate summit in Brasilia, Brazil, April 22, 2021. REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino

BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian Environment Minister Ricardo Salles quit on Wednesday, facing a criminal investigation of whether he obstructed a police probe of illegal logging in the Amazon rainforest.

A Supreme Court justice authorized the investigation of Salles this month after federal police raids targeted the minister and other officials alleged to have allowed illegal wood exports.