The 12th Federal Criminal Court of Brazil acquitted Federal Police Chief Bruno Calandrini of charges of malfeasance and abuse of authority in a 2022 case involving the former Attorney General of the Republic.
The complaint, presented by the MPF (), alleged that without judicial authorization the search and seizure of his cell phone was requested, disrespecting the prerogatives of the position.
There is still an appeal in the case. When contacted, the MPF press office stated that the process is being processed under secrecy and that, for this reason, the body would not comment.
The accusation also pointed out that the delegate had acted irregularly in requesting the testimony of the then minister, holder of the portfolio in the management of (PL), in a context that, according to the Prosecutor’s Office, aimed to satisfy personal interests.
The MPF maintained that the delegate acted out of personal interest and without just cause, in violation of the Penal Code and the Abuse of Authority Law. The complaint was received by the Court in December 2023.
The facts under investigation occurred in May 2022, when Paulo Guedes’ lawyer, Ticiano Figueiredo, tried to schedule an off-schedule meeting with Aras, then attorney general. The topic would be the possible exemption of the head of the economic team from the scheduled testimony to the .
The was made public by Aras himself. Out of carelessness, the then PGR posted a message on his status that should have been sent to an assistant.
The leaked conversation was the reason used by the delegate to request the Federal Supreme Court to search and seize, in addition to an examination of Aras’ cell phone. He denied the request.
The search request was made as part of an investigation investigating the senator for alleged embezzlement at Postalis, the Correios pension fund. Delegate Calandrini also asked for the former Minister of Economy to testify as a declarant — that is, not investigated.
Five days after Aras erroneously publicized the meeting request, he spoke out at the inquiry against the statement. The STF minister, on May 31, accepted Aras’ position and denied the PF’s request to hear Guedes.
In the assessment of the 12th Federal Court, although it may be questionable from an administrative point of view, Calandrini’s actions did not constitute abuse of authority or malfeasance, as the work was subject to the supervision of his superiors.
In the decision, the judge in the case states that the request for Guedes’ testimony was known to the PF’s top management and was even forwarded by the corporation’s general director to the hitherto Minister of Economy.
The magistrate responsible for the case stated in the sentence that there was no just cause for the defendant’s conviction, as requested by the Federal Public Ministry, and acquitted Calandrini because there was not enough evidence to characterize the crimes charged.
Calandrini was also responsible for the Bolsonaro government.
The delegate was removed from his position at the Federal Police after reporting alleged interference from the corporation’s leadership and Bolsonaro in the case.
Because of these facts, he began to respond to an internal administrative process at the PF. On April 20 of last year, he was preventively suspended and removed from office until the investigation was completed.
