Former president tries to reduce penalty for corruption in the physical plenary; the majority of ministers had positioned themselves against the request
The (Supreme Federal Court) restarts this Wednesday (13.Nov.2024) the trial of an appeal from the defense of the former president and former senator, which seeks to reduce his sentence for passive corruption and money laundering in the case of BR Distribuidora , investigated by Lava Jato.
Initially, the trial was in , but it was transferred to the physical plenary at the request of Court Minister André Mendonça. As a result, ministers must resubmit their votes and may maintain or change their positions.
The STF already had to uphold Collor’s conviction:
- voted to maintain the sentence of 8 years and 10 months – Alexandre de Moraes, Cármen Lúcia, Edson Fachin, Flávio Dino, Luiz Fux and Luís Roberto Barroso (6);
- voted to reduce the sentence to 4 years – Dias Toffoli and Gilmar Mendes (2).
Minister Cristiano Zanin declared himself impeached due to his involvement in cases of the Lava Jato operation. He was a lawyer for (PT), who would later be elected president.
Collor was sentenced by the STF in May 2023 to 8 years and 10 months in prison for passive corruption and money laundering. The defense alleges an error in the dosimetry of the sentence and seeks its review.
This is the first appeal presented by Collor in the case, in which he tries to reduce his sentence. If the STF rejects the request, the defense may still file new motions for clarification, which serve to clarify or question details of the decision.
If these new appeals address issues that the court has already analyzed and rejected, the Court may consider that the defense is simply trying to delay the process. In this case, the court may accelerate the beginning of the sentence.
UNDERSTAND COLLOR’S CASE
The case against the former president has been before the Supreme Court since 2018. Before being convicted of corruption and money laundering in the STF, the defense claimed innocence and asked for acquittal.
According to the complaint, Collor was part of a criminal organization installed at BR Distribuidora from 2010 to 2014. He was accused of receiving around R$20 million in bribes for deals involving the company, at the time a subsidiary of Petrobras in the sale of fuels.
Businessmen Luis Pereira Duarte de Amorim and Pedro Paulo Bergamaschi de Leoni Ramos would have helped him defraud state-owned contracts with UTC Engenharia. They were also convicted in the process.
