Federal judge Eduardo Appio, from the 18th Court of , who in 2023 took over the judgment of the Lava Jato cases, became the target of an administrative disciplinary process by decision of the Special Administrative Court of the TRF-4 (Federal Regional Court of the 4th Region).
Appio is suspected of stealing three bottles of Moët & Chandon champagne, with a promotional value of R$399.00 each, from Giassi Supermercados, in Blumenau (SC). This would have happened in three situations, on September 20th and on October 4th and 18th.
The report contacted his lawyer this Friday (5), but has not yet received a response.
The case, after the Civil Police notified the TRF-4. A week later, the court’s Administrative Court decided to temporarily remove the judge. It also ordered the preliminary investigation to be confidential.
On November 27, in a new decision, the Administrative Court approved the initiation of disciplinary proceedings and maintained his removal until the work was completed. It also decided to lift the confidentiality of the case.
Furthermore, the judges denied the request to sign a TAC (Conduct Adjustment Term) because they understood that “the fact constitutes a possible disciplinary infraction with a high degree of harm”.
They also noted that Appio has already signed a TAC in the last 3 years and that the measure may be insufficient to “prevent new infractions”.
Appio became known for his involvement in cases related to Operation Lava Jato. He served in the 13th Court of Curitiba from February to May 2023, when he was removed.
The episode that led to his dismissal was a call to lawyer João Eduardo Barreto Malucelli, partner of former judge Sergio Moro (now senator for União Brasil) in a law firm and son of federal judge Marcelo Malucelli, then Lava Jato rapporteur in the second instance.
During the call, Appio pretended to be someone else, in an attempt to prove that he was speaking to Marcelo Malucelli’s son.
Publicly, Appio denied having made the call, which was recorded by João Eduardo. He only admitted it in September 2024, during a , when he also explained that his objective was to prove that Malucelli would not have the necessary exemption to act in cases involving lawyer Rodrigo Tacla Duran, due to the bond between his son, João Eduardo, and Moro.
“[A ligação] it was to understand [João Eduardo] Was it a son or nephew? [de Marcelo Malucelli]. If he were a nephew, there wouldn’t be any problem. Being a son, serious problems and signs of corruption. Because Malucelli was taking jurisdiction over the processes that directly affected Sergio Moro’s interests. Tacla Duran has always been Moro’s arch-enemy. So, how could he have jurisdiction and, at the same time, his son be a partner of Moro?”, stated Appio, at the time.
The episode generated disciplinary administrative proceedings against Appio at TRF-4. The magistrate, however, managed to transfer the case for analysis by the CNJ (National Council of Justice) Internal Affairs, in Brasília, where he reached an agreement.
At the time, he requested his removal to the 18th Court of Curitiba, responsible for the social security area, where he worked until the champagne episode.
