Brasilia, February 4 (RHC)-- The Brazilian Supreme Court has picked its newest member to take over the investigations of politicians implicated in the country's biggest graft scandal, which is expected to shake the country's establishment and government.

Brazilian court officials said Justice Edson Fachin was chosen by random electronic selection from among a group of five of the court's 10 members and will take over the corruption cases from Justice Teori Zavascki, who died in a plane crash last month.

Fachin's first task will be to act on explosive plea bargain testimony given to prosecutors by 77 executives of engineering conglomerate Odebrecht who have reportedly named dozens of politicians who took kickbacks.  They include members of President Michel Temer's government and leaders of his PMDB party.

Fachin, a law professor from Parana state, was appointed to the court by Temer's impeached predecessor Dilma Rousseff but has established a record of independent rulings despite ties to her Workers' Party.