The (Supreme Federal Court) rejected this Thursday (14) the former president’s request to reduce the penalty for corruption. In addition to the money laundering penalty, Collor may have to serve eight years and ten months in prison, in an initial closed regime.
By 6 votes against 4, the plenary understood that the defense’s request to review the definition of conviction did not deserve to prosper. The vote proposed by the minister won. Dias Toffoli, Gilmar Mendes, Kassio Nunes Marques and André Mendonça were defeated. Cristiano Zanin declared himself impeded and did not participate in the trial.
According to Moraes, the first to vote this Thursday, there was no doubt about the fact that six ministers voted to condemn corruption at a minimum level. “In criminal matters, the average vote cannot be a sum, but rather how many ministers served at least 4 years and 4 months. I reject all arguments and deny the embargoes,” said Moraes.
The former president’s defense asked the Supreme Court to reduce the sentence for passive corruption. She argued that the court erred in defining the number of years of imprisonment. The strategy, if successful, could free Collor from prison.
This was the first appeal presented by Collor in the process. The former president’s defense may file new embargoes to try again to reduce the sentence. Jurisprudence, however, considers that appeals on topics already rejected are delaying — which could end the action and lead Collor to prison.
This is because, in the defense’s view, reducing the sentence for passive corruption to four years would make the crime time-barred. In this scenario, the former president would only have to serve the sentence for money laundering, stipulated at four years and six months.
The possible reduction of the final sentence — from eight years and ten months to four years and six months — could also change the fulfillment of the sentence, moving from a closed regime to a semi-open regime. Collor is a first-time offender, which can convert prison into community service.
for the crimes of passive and money laundering. The sentence was set at the time at eight years and ten months in prison.
The former president has no longer held public office since last year, when his term as senator for Alagoas ended. He remains affiliated with the PRD (former).
It is not yet possible to know when Collor could be detained, as the Supreme Court’s jurisprudence provides that convicts should only begin serving their sentence after all appeals have been exhausted (final and unappealable).
The complaint against the former president was presented by the PGR (Attorney General’s Office) in August 2015 within the scope of the . He was accused of receiving bribes from a corruption scheme at BR Distribuidora, a subsidiary of Petrobras.
According to the conviction, the former president would have influenced the company’s command and management, from 2010 to 2014, to guarantee the signing of contracts between the state-owned company and the construction company UTC. In return, Collor would have received R$20 million.
Proofs found in the money changer’s office, in addition to statements from collaborators in the operation, were used as evidence in the action against Collor.
Collor’s defense argued to the Supreme Court that the accusations against the former president are based only on plea bargains. Lawyer Marcelo Bessa said there was no evidence against his client.
