BRASILIA, (Reuters) – The winner of a $16 million  lottery jackpot in Brazil escaped his own father’s plot to kill  him after police caught two contract killers supposedly hired  to carry out his murder, local media reported yesterday.

Police informed Fabio de Barros of the plan by his father,  Francisco, to have him killed in order to keep the winnings the  two had fought over since Fabio won the prize in 2006, O Globo  TV and the Agencia Estado reported.

A legal battle began after Francisco, 60, refused to hand  over the winnings Fabio had deposited in his account. They had  not spoken for about three years, Fabio’s lawyer said.

Francisco was arrested in Cuiaba in western Brazil on  Wednesday. Agencia Estado said police learned of the murder  plot during monitoring of phone conversations between the two  men accused of working as guns-for-hire.