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Federal Police report says Brazil’s top prosecutor intervened in public prosecutors’ council election
🇧🇷 Brazil /Elections & Politics

Federal Police report says Brazil’s top prosecutor intervened in public prosecutors’ council election

From Estadão · () Portuguese

Translated from Portuguese and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Documents & data Under investigation
  • A Federal Police report on banker Daniel Vorcaro’s messages indicates that Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet helped Jarbas Soares Júnior in the election for the National Council of General Prosecutors.
  • The messages say Gonet persuaded rival candidate Georges Seigneur to withdraw and support Soares, who is the brother of lawyer Ciro Soares.
  • The Office of the Prosecutor General has not commented, while the report also describes contacts between Gonet and Vorcaro and an invitation to a London whisky and cigar event.

Messages seized by Brazil’s Federal Police portray Prosecutor General Paulo Gonet intervening in an election to lead the body representing state and federal prosecutors. The alleged intervention was aimed at helping Jarbas Soares Júnior win the presidency of the National Council of General Prosecutors.

The report centers on conversations involving banker Daniel Vorcaro and lawyer Ciro Soares, Jarbas’s brother. Ciro was described as close to Vorcaro and as an intermediary between the Banco Master owner and Gonet. The Office of the Prosecutor General had not commented on the allegations.

I asked Gonet yesterday. He called me to discuss something, so I said, Gonet, ask the guy to withdraw his candidacy. Ask him, because the guy is going to take a beating. Then Gonet called me last night and said: Ciro, I just called him, he is going to withdraw.

— Ciro SoaresThe lawyer described to Daniel Vorcaro how he said he asked Paulo Gonet to persuade a rival candidate to leave the CNPG election.

According to messages cited in the report, Gonet persuaded Georges Seigneur, then a candidate for the council leadership, to withdraw and back Jarbas. Seigneur did so on April 14, 2024. Ciro later sent Vorcaro a message praising Gonet and forwarded a longer message from Jarbas thanking his former rival for leaving the race and Gonet for his support.

Top demais.

— Daniel VorcaroVorcaro reacted after Ciro confirmed that Georges Seigneur had withdrawn his candidacy.

Ciro also told Vorcaro that he had asked Gonet to intervene. “I asked Gonet yesterday. He called me to discuss something, so I said, Gonet, ask the guy to withdraw his candidacy. Ask him, because the guy is going to take a beating. Then Gonet called me last night and said: Ciro, I just called him, he is going to withdraw.” Vorcaro celebrated the confirmation with the response, “Top demais,” or “Absolutely great.”

The report also describes Gonet’s contacts with Vorcaro before the prosecutor general accepted an invitation to London, where the banker gathered Brazilian officials for a whisky and cigar tasting. Gonet replied enthusiastically, “Yay!!!! Hopefully there will be cigars and Macallan,” and asked that his son, Pedro Gonet, be added to the guest list. Other messages reportedly showed Gonet telling Vorcaro that he missed him.

Yay!!!! Hopefully there will be cigars and Macallan.

— Paulo GonetGonet responded to an invitation to a whisky and cigar tasting in London organized by Daniel Vorcaro.
About this summary

Originally published by Estadão in Portuguese. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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