Appellate judge calls tax auditor's alleged bribery scheme case handling an 'inadmissible' procedural error

A high-stakes legal battle is unfolding in São Paulo, Brazil, after an appellate judge criticized a lower court judge's decision to abstain from ruling on a prisão request. Desembargadora Carla Rahal, overseeing a case involving alleged billion-dollar bribery schemes linked to retail and wholesale giants, labeled the lower court judge's inaction as an "inadmissible procedural consequence." The judge in question, Thiago Baldani Gomes de Filippo of the 1st State Court of Tax Crimes, reportedly refused to rule on a prisão request for Artur ‘King’ Gomes da Silva Neto. Neto is accused of being the mastermind behind a network within strategic areas of the state tax revenue service, facilitating tax credits in exchange for bribes. Prosecutors from Gedec, a branch of the Public Ministry focused on economic crimes, had sought Neto's prisão. However, Judge de Filippo cited a directive mandating that such requests be submitted directly to the tribunal. This move prompted prosecutors to file a "partial correction" request with Desembargadora Rahal, arguing that the judge's refusal to exercise his jurisdiction created a "tumultuous inversion of the procedural march," potentially harming the case. Artur ‘King’ was initially arrested last August as part of Operation Ícaro, one of three major operations by the Public Ministry targeting a system of "fast-track" tax credits granted to companies that paid substantial bribes to tax officials. Prosecutors had sought a new prisão order for Neto in June, armed with additional evidence, but the request remained undecided by Judge de Filippo.

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a interpretação conferida pelo magistrado singular, além de incompatível com o teor da decisão invocada, produz consequência processual inadmissível: a criação de hipótese de incompetência funcional não prevista em lei