Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff suffered a new setback Wednesday when a court declared her government's accounting practices were illegal, handing ammunition to opponents threatening impeachment proceedings.

The Federal Accounts Court or TCU's ruling was the latest blow for Rousseff, who is less than a year into her second term.

The court said that her government's accounting practices in 2014, including taking what amounted to unauthorized loans from state-owned banks to make up for budget shortfalls, broke the law.

"The accounts are not in a condition where they can be approved. We recommend their rejection," the lead judge, Augusto Nardes, said after the court's panel voted unanimously.

After the ruling, Rousseff's office issued a statement defending the accounting.