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🇧🇷 Brazil /Crime & Justice

Brazil police probe alleged sale of court decisions benefiting businessman

From Folha de S.Paulo · () Portuguese

Translated from Portuguese, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Under investigation
  • Brazil's Federal Police are investigating alleged sales of decisions from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) benefiting businessman Luiz Estevão.
  • The investigation involves a lobbyist and the wife of a federal judge, with suspicions of irregular influence over a minister's ruling.
  • Evidence emerged from a seized mobile phone, leading to formal authorization for the magistrate's investigation.

Brazil's Federal Police are investigating suspicions that decisions from the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) were sold to benefit businessman and former senator Luiz Estevão. The probe centers on alleged dealings by a lobbyist and the wife of a federal judge, potentially influencing a ruling by STJ Minister Moura Ribeiro.

According to the Federal Police, there are indications that lobbyist Andreson de Oliveira Gonçalves, currently under house arrest, acted improperly with the STJ to secure a favorable decision from Minister Moura Ribeiro for Estevão's company, Grupo OK. Gonçalves allegedly collaborated with lawyer Aline Gonçalves de Sousa, wife of Cesar Jatahy, a judge at the Regional Federal Court of the 1st Region (TRF-1).

The information to be analyzed not only clarifies what is already being investigated, but also evidences the occurrence of analogous crimes linked to ongoing processes in the cabinet of Minister Moura Ribeiro.

— Federal PoliceDescribing the findings from the mobile phone analysis in a report.

Businessman Luiz Estevão stated he had not seen the material and could not comment on it. Neither Cesar nor Aline responded to requests for comment. The investigation was prompted by an analysis of data from Gonçalves's mobile phone, which revealed "conversations maintained between Andreson and the lawyer Aline Gonçalves de Sousa indicat[ing] that they acted jointly, suspiciously, in processes of the former senator Luiz Estêvão, which were under the rapporteurship of Minister Moura Ribeiro."

One specific process mentioned in the report involved a 2021 decision favoring Grupo OK. Evidence suggests Gonçalves discussed the case with lawyer Roberto Zampieri, who was murdered in late 2023. Zampieri's phone contained information that initiated the investigation into STJ suspicions. A screenshot of a conversation between Gonçalves and Estevão, showing a favorable decision, was sent to Zampieri. Estevão responded by asking if Gonçalves could obtain the full decision. The following day, a company linked to the lobbyist transferred R$ 250,000 to Zampieri. Minister Moura Ribeiro is the first STJ minister to be formally investigated in this case, which has been ongoing at the Supreme Federal Court since 2024.

conversations maintained between Andreson and the lawyer Aline Gonçalves de Sousa indicat[ing] that they acted jointly, suspiciously, in processes of the former senator Luiz Estêvão, which were under the rapporteurship of Minister Moura Ribeiro.

— Federal PoliceDetailing suspicious interactions found in phone data.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Folha de S.Paulo in Portuguese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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