Brazil’s federal prosecutors seek to move investigation into Lula’s son to lower court

Brazil’s federal prosecutors want an investigation involving President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s son, Fábio Luís Lula da Silva, known as Lulinha, transferred from the Supreme Court to a lower court.

In a filing to Supreme Court Justice André Mendonça, Deputy Prosecutor-General Hindemburgo Filho said the investigation contained no “minimum indications of the participation of an authority that would justify the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction.” Mendonça is the case rapporteur and has not yet ruled on the request.

The Federal Public Prosecutor’s Office took the same position in another investigation targeting Lulinha, which examines alleged influence peddling involving the Health Ministry. Prosecutors also rejected any connection between the cases and the Sem Desconto operation investigation, which is already before the Supreme Court.

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The only relationship they have comes from the origin of the discovery, but since this is merely coincidental, that aspect is absolutely irrelevant to any attempt to combine the investigations.

“The only relationship they have comes from the origin of the discovery, but since this is merely coincidental, that aspect is absolutely irrelevant to any attempt to combine the investigations,” the deputy prosecutor said.

Prosecutors asked for the allegations to be examined by a first-instance judge. They said the investigation could return to the Supreme Court if new evidence showed that officials with special jurisdiction were involved. Lulinha’s lawyer, Marco Aurélio Carvalho, said the defense was not surprised by the prosecutors’ position and that it supported the lawyers’ argument from the beginning. “There is no suspicion of the participation of people with special jurisdiction, diversion of public money, or official acts directly or indirectly related to the INSS. They are merely assumptions,” he said.

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There is no suspicion of the participation of people with special jurisdiction, diversion of public money, or official acts directly or indirectly related to the INSS. They are merely assumptions.